


Fearless Immortals

by Ladyjenwen84



Series: Frigid Immortals Trilogy [3]
Category: Loki Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asgard, Asgard (Marvel), BAMF Frigga, BAMF Loki, BAMF Sigyn, Blood Magic, Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012), Canon Divergence - Post-Thor (2011), Canon Divergence - Thor: The Dark World, Canonical Character Death, Dark, Dark Fantasy, Dark Magic, Dark Thor, Drama, Drama & Romance, Epic Battles, F/M, Fantasy, Final Battle, Fire Magic, Frigga Feels, Good Loki, King Loki, King Thor, Loki Feels, Loki-centric, Love, Love/Hate, Magic, Miðgarðr | Midgard, Original Character Death(s), Prisoner Loki, Prisoner Sigyn, Protective Thor, Romance, Series Finale, Sexual Content, The Tesseract (Marvel), Thor Angst, Thor Feels, Thor Is Not Stupid, Thor Needs a Hug, Torture, True Love, Wakanda (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-24 05:58:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4908004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyjenwen84/pseuds/Ladyjenwen84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>~The Final Book of the Frigid Immortals Trilogy~</p>
<p>After three months in captivity, The Other gave Loki a task that brought him to Earth.  "Agreeing" to do their bidding, Loki has his own plans, but someone has thrown a kink in said plans....Sigyn.  He'd thought he would never see her again, yet she'd been in Tony Stark's basement laboratory when he'd returned.  With her help, they must (among other things) return to Asgard to save grief-stricken Thor from himself.  He'd taken over the throne after Loki's "death" and had lost so much favor with their people that he feared revolution would arise.  How will they return with the bifrost broken, Heimdall blind, the Allfather asleep, and unsure how to wield the cube?  With the help of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts and company, hopefully they can save Thor and their people (and spare Earth) from the destruction The Other and his master desire.</p>
<p>(I have tried over and over to write a good "hook you" summary....I swear....it is impossible)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You'll Have Your Answers....Later

**Author's Note:**

> FEARLESS is the final book in the Frigid Immortals Trilogy. These books can not be read individually. Make sure to read FRIGID (part I) and FALLEN (part II) first. This trilogy has been and will continue in its canon divergence. I update as I am able, and though I can't promise weekly or even monthly posts at this point, I assure you that I will not abandon this story. Expect approximately fourteen chapters (around 60,000 words) 
> 
> ***DISCLAIMER***  
> I still do not own Loki or any other Marvel characters. Absolutely no copyright infringement intended.
> 
> *Rated M for language, sexual content, violence, and adult themes.

 

 

 

~Prologue~

Life after death. Not physical death, though at times he had thought the unknown blackness of the universe _was_ indeed Helheim, but death that masked itself as captivity. Isolated from the nine realms in complete and utter darkness, Loki had been broken, beaten, bested, and somehow offered the chance to be born again by his great unnamed torturer. He'd been a starving man offered a feastーa homeless man offered a castle. It had been too good to be true for certainly his torturer had the most destructive intentions possible, but Loki had jumped. Head first. All in. Freed suddenly from his desert cage in deep space by the expansive wings of a blue cube, he'd flown across the universe and had crash landed on a little worldーMidgard, to be exactーunsure of what lay ahead. Indeed, the relief he'd felt upon seeing the mortals after having spent three months with nothing but hideous bestia and Chitauri was to be expected. Though, dear gods, _relief_ didn't _begin_ to cover what had gone through his mind.

The great cocktail of emotions swirling in the pit of Loki's stomach had bemused him. Why hadn't he been overwhelmed with _joy?_ Why after escaping further torture, had fear, anxiety, and sadness accompanied that relief? Well, quite simply, because it wasn't that easy. Sadly, he couldn't have simply flipped the switch in his brain. Death, agonizing as it had been, once he'd done it for a bit, had become _normal_ . Thrust back into the world of the living, feeling anything other than misery would have seemed…. _wrong_ . Every day on that desert island he'd order his drinkー _I'll have the lonely, sorrowful, pained, wearied, weighed down with melancholy usual, please and thank you._ Angry with everyone in one moment, he'd then cry and speak unintelligible words in the next. Misery had become his comrade. But then he'd heard _her_.

Sigyn's throaty strained cryー _NO!_ ーhad broken through the dreadful emotions which his mind had clung to upon first standing in Tony Stark's basement laboratory. _Boom_ . Misery?ーGone. Tossed aside to make room for pure unadulterated euphoria. Reunited with the immortal love of his life, he'd nearly broken her ribs in his crushing embrace. What good thing had he done to deserve _that?!_ He'd known the answer to that question instantly. Not a task he had accomplished _before_ his fall from the bridge, but a new mission, a new _purpose_ , had earned him this new life. Dying had made him stronger. It had made _her_ stronger. This great task, this glorious purpose, would cause them both a world of suffering, but with Sigyn's help, he would take back the throne of Asgard, and in doing so, they just might save the Realm Eternal from sure destruction….the entire universe with it.

* * *

 

"Alright folks. Welcome to Stark Tower Two. Fifty eight floors…." Tony trailed off, mouth turning down at the sound of Bach's suite no. 1 in G major coming through the speakers. Holding up a finger, he raised his voice, "Jarvis? My ears are actually bleeding. Make that noise stop, or I'm going to throw myself out the window _without_ my suit."

Speaking under her breath, Jane looked down. "By all means, keep the music going then."

"Of course, Mr. Stark." The British accented slightly electronic voice of Jarvis filled the room.

Startled by the sound, Loki looked around quizzically, one eyebrow raised. His gaze landed on Sigyn, and leaning down, he whispered, "Who said that?"

Shrugging, she tightened her grip on his waist and suppressed a yawn. "I know not, and I care not. I do care to know where we might find a bed. I am positively spent."

Classic cello transformed into an electric guitar riff coupled with a solid drum beat, Tony bobbing his head in response. "Now [that](https://youtu.be/0c3d7QgZr7g)  is classical music. _Here I come again now, baby, like a dog in heat. Tell it's me by the clamor now, baby. I'd like to tear up the street…._ "

Pepper cringed. "Now _everyone's_ ears are bleeding, Tony. Do _not_ quit your day job."

"Are you suggesting that I don't have a Nugent-esque set of pipes, sweetheart? I'm crushed. What d'ya think, Alice? Asgard have anything like this this?"

Putting a great deal of effort into not rolling her eyes at being called Alice _again_ ーcouldn't the man see that Loki was real and not a little white rabbit?!ーSigyn sighed. Despite not caring for the man or his voice, she couldn't help but genuinely _like_ the song itself. No, Asgard most certainly did _not_ have anything resembling _this_ . The instruments sounded like altered lutesー _immensely_ altered. The musician wasn't plucking the stringsーshe was indeed hearing a stringed instrument, wasn't she?ーso much as strumming them and the sound was positively _hypnotic_ . Not wishing to further encourage Stark's ego by conceding that she actually _adored_ his music, she simply shrugged and shook her head.

Smirk spreading across his face, Tony continued bobbing his head. " _Stranglehold_. Damn. Good, right? They're called electric guitars, in case you were wonderingー"

"What is the purpose of this lengthy discourse on your musical tastes, Stark? Please do kindly get to the point," Loki cut him off, attempting not to sway his hips to that infuriatingly mesmerizing rhythm. He had a mind to put the man in a _strangehold_ of his own.

Glaring, Tony's lip twitched. "I _am_ getting to the point."

"Well, get there _faster_ ," Loki snapped, taking a step forward only to be held back by Sigyn's steadfast hand on his shoulder. Returning to his place beside her, he gripped the back laces of her armor, knuckles white with restrained exasperation. _Conceited fractious fucking insufferable human._

His irate thoughts echoing through her mind, Sigyn pulled his neck down and whispered, "Calm yourself."

Eyes wide, he gaped at her, practically growling, "How can….? What are….? He is positively….!" Her hand clamping over his mouth, he breathed heavily and shut up.

"Look, this is _my_ place. And let's not forget that it was _my_ helicopter that saved you. You may be some sort of immortal alien, so you say, but you're still just an Eric Draven knock off to me that quite literally exploded into my lab, so let me do the talking and stop interrupting me."

Loki and Sigyn eyed each other, the reference completely lost on them, but ignored it as Tony continued. "The tower has top notch security," he paused, addressing the entire room then, "in other words, if you've seen it in a Bond film, I've had it installed." He returned his eyes to Loki, "Every move you makeーif you sneeze, if you drink a beer, if you open a book, if you steal a pen, if you brush your hair, if you take a shower or a piss, if you _go_ anywhere at all or _do_ anything at allーI'll know about it. So don't bother looking for the tesseract. Are we clear?"

One corner of Loki's mouth raising, he nodded once. "Crystal."

"Good. I wasn't expecting company so forgive the mess." Spinning on one foot, Stark did a 360, inspecting the ridiculously clean floor and shrugged. "Or not. I don't live here. Or...I didn't. _Now_ I do. I guess we have a cleaning crew. Did _I_ hire one? Um…."

Trying to recall the name, he snapped his fingers, brows knitted together. "Molly Maids? Betsy's Busy Beavers? Tony's Tidy Team?" Scratching the back of his head, shoulders shrugging, he smirked. "Eh, what do I know?"

Blowing out an exaggerated breath, Jane rolled her eyes. "Are there enough bedrooms up here for all of us," hip cocked, she smiled, all teeth, "or should we have brought our sleeping bags?"

Tony tilted his head sideways. "Of course there are enough bedrooms up here, Pipsqueakー"

"Stop calling me that," Jane snapped, crossing her arms. "I do _not_ squeak."

He waved a hand. "Yeah, you do, but whatever. Yes, there _are_ enough bedrooms up here, but you won't be using any of them."

"What?! Where are we supposed toー"

"Tony means that he won't let anyone use _this_ floor," Pepper cut in, glaring at him, "but there plenty other condos throughout the building. He might have been attempting to make a joke. It clearly fell flat."

Brows furrowed, Sigyn looked up at Lokiー _What in the name of Odin is a condo?_

Shaking his head in response, Loki slid the hand at the small of her back around her waist to pull her closer.

They'd arrived in one piece and Stark had led them to this…. _place_ . Was it meant for _living?_ Sigyn had assumed that Stark Tower Two would house floor after floor of commerce space or more research labs. Apparently, that was not the case. Just as she might have expected considering the decor in his now blown to smithereens compound, the furnishings were grotesque and absurd. Exhausted and annoyed at the prospect of not having a bed to sleep on, she picked at an imaginary thread on Loki's jacket. Having slept naked and freezing cold in a cave behind the waterfall in Vanaheim, she was more than capable of sleeping on a shiny floor in a comfortably warm high rise, but she'd have preferred something a bit more inviting, something _softer_ , for Hel's sake. Something _private_ , so she could do…. _things…_.with Loki.

Looking up at his wrought with annoyance face, she frowned. More questions than she could separate were charging through the synapses in her brain. What had happened during those three months? That was the first question she needed answered. Sighingーthere would be time for answers laterーshe turned her body toward him, wrapping him in a full hug. His arms tightening around her instantly, he put his nose in her hair, though he continued eyeing Tony.

Clearing his throat, Loki licked his lips and spoke plainly. "Where are we to stay then?" Glancing around the 'living room' as Tony had called it, he gestured to the couches. "It seems large enough to house more than a few guests, if you'd be so kind."

Eyes narrowed at the incessantly sarcastic and decidedly _ungrateful_ man in front of him, Tony couldn't hold his tongue. "You do realize that this is all _your_ fault, right?"

Sigyn turned, jaw clenched. " _His_ fault? What the Hel do you mean by that?!" She had a good mind to set his perfectly tousled hair on fire.

Clicking his tongue, Loki shushed her. "Don't bother asking him questions. I do believe the phrase ' _what do I know'_ came from him. Isn't that correct, Stark?"

Brow creasing, Loki shook his head. He was _beyond_ exhausted. He couldn't even form a proper quip for Hel's sake. That last one had been _pathetic_ . Traveling through the cube had taken its tollーan _enormous_ tollーand he wanted a bed. _Now_ . With Sigyn to keep him company. In various positions. He rolled his eyes. _Typical_ . He was right back where he'd been as king. Bone-tired but ready to fuck her senseless. Pulling back just enough to get a good look at her, he pushed a few loose strands of raven hair behind her ear, marveling at those stormy grey green eyes, red with lack of sleep though they were. Gods, the most _gorgeous_ woman in the universe was gazing up at him with heavy lids. _Oh yes,_ she wanted a bed, too.

Tony threw his hands up. He knew he could've handled this better, but there had just been too much shit going wrong with stupid SHIELD lately. And Pepper kept looking at Loki. Not to mention his house in Catalina. He loved that stupid house. And so much equipment! His lab, his suits, all his work. Gone. Just... _gone_ ! Sure he had more equipment and suits hereー _all_ was not lost. But still. Loki's little snide retorts weren't helping.

"I know that our parking garage on the bottom level features a lovely cement floor for you to curl up on, Prince not-so-Charming," Tony said carefully, managing to hold back a myriad of colorful words.

"I thought he was a king? I mean obviously he would have been a prince first, but still," Pepper pointed out, "wouldn't _King_ Charming be more accurate?" She'd been going for a little humor to ease the tension, but her cheeks suddenly flushed with color when Loki turned his eyes on her. _Oh good lord,_ Pepper thought, averting her eyes. She _hated_ that she was blushing.

"Indeed it would be more accurate, Miss…." he trailed off before continuing, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't recall your name." Tilting his head slightly, one brow raised, he pursed his lips before grinning at her. Clearly, he had an effect on these women, and considering he had such an effect on higher beings, it was positively _thrilling_ to hear these mortal females silently wondering what a _god_ was like in bed.

He winced as Sigyn's elbow collided with his ribs. _Damn_ . He'd forgotten her strength... _and_ that she could hear his thoughts thanks to their returned bond. Not that he _remotely_ wanted anyone other than her, but still. It was fun to muse about the others' sexual fantasies. Eyes wide, brows raised, he looked at her with the innocence of a school boy. _What?_

Come now. He hadn't had sex in _three months._ Had not he earned a... _heightened desire?_ Three months was positively _absurd_ considering the longest he'd gone without, prior to the fourteen years before his first time obviously, had been those two months after he'd met Sigyn when Odin had _forced_ him to keep his distance. Shrugging, he leaned down, and kissed her forehead, his thoughts of her sans clothing beneath him jolting to a stop when the Stark's woman spoke again.

"Pepper."

"What?" He stared blankly at her. He'd clean forgotten the conversation. Had he asked her name? Who cared? When was he going to get that bed?

Voice cracking imperceptibly, she raised her voice a notch. "My _name_. My name is Pepper. You asked what to call me."

Loki frowned. That woman's name was a seasoning for food? _Poor woman._ Her parents must have been quite disappointed with their baby girl to have given her such a ridiculous name. Well, it could have been worse. They could have chosen Paprika or Tumeric or Cumin or Ginger. Actually, Ginger wasn't that bad. Wait...no...ginger wasn't a spice. Was it a root? Hold on….

"Is that _really_ what you are thinking about at this moment?" Sigyn's voice interrupted his thoughts on seasoning which had led to thoughts about food which had led to his stomach growling. His new muscles requiring more sustenance than he was used to, he looked around the space. Where was the scullery in this hideous place?

Wandering to the bar, Tony pulled out a glass and searched for whatever had the highest alcohol content by volume. "So, Loki. As I was saying, this is _your_ fault because _you're_ the one who pissed off the tesseract which then pissed off my steel framed house. You should be grateful that I allowed you to get in my chopper."

Eyes widened in mock horror, Loki put his hand over his heart. "Do forgive me, Mr. Stark. Where were my manners? Thank you for the seat in your meager little flying contraption."

Sigyn rolled her eyes and hissed, "Will you please control your tongue? This is _not_ helping to get us that bed, Loki."

Nostrils flaring with barely controlled anger, Loki quirked his jaw as Tony smiled, pointing at Sigyn. "You've got a smart girlfriend there. Maybe you should let _her_ do the talking."

Lips pursed, Loki leaned down to Sigyn, whispering, "Dare I ask what a _girlfriend_ is?"

His breath was so _cool_ on the skin just below her ear, but her insides were positively _melting_ . Shivers running down her spine, she suppressed the urge to start ripping those Midgardian garments off him right there in front of everyone. "Apparently it's what I am to you. Romantic partners. Lovers. Oh, and apparently you are my boyfriend _."_

Much to everyone's surprise, Loki laughed out loud. Shoulders shaking, he could barely spit out his words. "Who in their right mind would call _you_ a _girl?_ And even more preposterous, who would call _me_ a _boy?!"_

"Oh no, you're all _man_ ," Jane whispered, running a hand down her neck, eyes glazing over as she looked him up and down.

Loki stopped laughing and cocked his head, one eyebrow raised, "What was that?"

Cheeks burning, Jane gaped. Had she said that _out loud?!_ "Oh _god."_

Grinning crookedly, Loki winked at her. "Indeed, _god_ is quite accurate."

Sigyn pulled away from him, glaring, her irritated thoughts echoing in his mindー _Why the Hel are you_ flirting _with these_ mortals _?! I'm standing_ right _here!_

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed her and wound his arms around her _ーOh keep your armor on, Sig. I'm not flirting. I'm_ jesting _. On second thought, don't keep your armor on._

Eyes narrowing, she scoffed _ーKeep it up, Loki, and you'll get nowhere near my lady parts._

Pulling her tighter as she fought to untangle herself from his arms, Loki smirked _ーCome now, love, you know very well that when I_ do _keep it up you let me all over your lady parts._

Sigyn couldn't hide the smile spreading across her face in response to the insinuation. Chuckling, she shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. _Gods_ , she'd missed that clever tongue of his. No one else in the universe had the same _always-at-the-ready_ wit. Only he could make her laugh so easily. Although she wished he would turn off said clever tongue when it came to Stark. Loki was just aggravating the man. Again, _not_ helping.

Still utterly humiliated at her 'all man _'_ comment, Jane ran a hand through her hair and cleared her throat. She needed to get away from that gorgeous might-as-well-be-sex-god who also happened to be Thor's _brother_ and who appeared to be having a silent conversation with Sigyn. Oh god, could they read minds?! Escape was officially necessary. "Tony, where is your bathroom?"

Thrusting his thumb behind his shoulder, Tony sighed. "That hall. First door on the right. I hope you're just looking for the toilet or sink, because you're definitely not gonna find your dignity in there."

"Screw you!" Jane shouted over her shoulder and headed for the hall.

Chasing after her, Pepper whispered to Tony as she passed him, "Tony, why do you say shit like that?" She didn't wait for his response.

Frowning, Loki's eyes shifted from Sigyn to Tony. Did the women here typically _beg_ that man to bed them? Was that why Tony had said such callous words to that poor girl?ーbecause she was quite obviously more attracted to an _Asgardian prince?_ He scoffed. "You have a rather _sensitive_ ego, Stark."

Tony rolled his eyes. Okay, so his comment to Jane had been unnecessary, but it wasn't worth getting into. Straightening his shoulders, he blew out a breath and looked at Loki. "This is not about ego. Let's just get to the point. We've been tossing around words pointlessly, and it's getting old. I want answers, Loki. You owe me that much. You're gonna be staying in my tower, so I think I deserve to know a little bit about the guy who claims to be immortal royalty and came through the tesseract and blew up my house. No more games."

Loki responded flatly. "I've not been playing _games_ , Stark. I told you that there would be time for answers _later."_

"Yeah, you said that on the way here." Tony crossed his arms. "Well, now we're here. Now _is_ later."

Fighting the urge to hurl one of the hideous armchairs at the man standing behind the wet bar, Loki fisted his hands. Did Stark have no sense of propriety? No manners, at all? Was it not obvious that he truly was _exhausted?_ He could hardly think of a clever retort, much less explain the events that preceded his appearance in this realm! Why was this infuriating short little man not showing them to one of the guest quarters?! He'd said he would give the man answers _later!_ And no, _now_ was most certainly not _later_. Chest puffing, Loki set his jaw. It was a good thing indeed that Coulson and his team of agents weren't present for if he were to lose it and rip out Tony Stark's tongue, at least there wouldn't be twenty guns aimed at him. Not that the tiny weapons would hurt him in the least, but still, he didn't wish for the humans to turn on him. Rubbing a hand down his face, he sighed heavily.

" _Later_ is a relative term. You clearly interpreted the word differently. I meant after a night's rest. All jesting aside, Stark, I am utterly _spent_ . Did it not occur to you that travelling across the _universe_ through the cube might have been a bit more than _slightly_ taxing?" Loki shook his head. "You will have your answers. _Tomorrow."_

Scoffing, Tony gaped and looked at his watch. " _A night's rest?_ It's seven o'clock in the morning. A night's rest would have been _last_ night. As in, when you arrived. The sun _just_ came up. You telling me that you're gonna sleep _all_ day and then _all_ night, and then we'll talk in _twenty-four_ hours? Are you _shitting_ me?"

Cutting off Loki's retort which was sure to only escalate things further, Sigyn put a finger to Loki's mouth. If he wanted to rest, they needed a bed, and he wasn't going to earn them one with all this snapping back and forth. Eyes moving to her face, he relaxed, and Sigyn nodded before turning to Tony.

"Mr. Stark, you can _hardly_ imagine what Loki has been through. We may be immortal, but we still fatigue," she paused, her voice raising, thoroughly vexed now, "so kindly do cease this pettish arguing and give a us a _damn_ _bed."_

Sighing heavilyーthese Asgardians clearly weren't gonna give it upーTony rolled his eyes. " _Fine._ Forty-second floor. All yours. Kitchen. Bath. Beds. Whatever. But," he held up his first finger, "I expect answers before lunchtime tomorrow or you can kiss your _royal_ treatment goodbye."

Nodding once, Loki grabbed Sigyn's hand, pulling her toward the contraption that Stark had called an 'elevator _'_ and pressed the down arrow. She groaned at the sound of Tony's voice yelling after them. "Friendly reminder. Cameras. Everywhere. No sneaking around."

Rolling his eyes, fairly certain they would end up stuck in that position after today, Loki led Sigyn into the mirrored little box that would take them to their new residence for the unforeseeable future, and slamming his palm against the forty-second button, he turned to face her. He crossed the space in one long stride. Pressing her against the back wall, one thigh between her legs, he kissed her.

Seconds later, the doors slid open. Arms wrapped tightly around her waist, his mouth still on hers, he walked backward into the condo. Was that what that Pepper woman had called it? Positively _hideous_ chambers. Oh _blast_ _it_ , who cared?! He had better things to think about. Namely…. _Sig_ ….and that thing she was currently doing with her tongue. _Gods_ , he'd forgotten the utter _rapture_ he felt with her mouth on his. Of course they'd kissed passionately in Stark's basement labーhe'd just returned from the _dead_ for Hel's sakeーbut it hadn't been enough. Not even _close_.

One hand moving up her spine to the back of her neck, the other holding her flush against him, he walked her toward the closest wall and resumed what he'd started in the elevator.

"Loki," she gasped into his mouth, trying to catch her breath, her hands in his hair as he ground his hips slowly against her, "the cameras…." she trailed off, her eyes rolling back.

 _By the Norns!_ At this rate, she would finish before he'd even removed her breeches!

Trailing a slow line of kisses down her jaw, he whispered against her neck, "What was that, love?"

He pushed _his_ jacket, which she'd clearly stolen from his dressing room back homeーhe smiled at the thought of _home_ ーoff her shoulders and tugged the too long sleeves forcefully down. He needed her out of her clothes. _Now_.

Arching her back involuntarily, she blinked, trying to gather her wits. _Loki, stop….just….hold on a moment._ Her silent plea was clearly falling on deaf ears as he moved his mouth back to hers. Those damned _glorious_ hips of his were positively relentless. _For the love, Loki!_ Moaning, mustering the willpower to put some space between themーoh but his mouth felt so _good_ on hers and that hardness against her thigh was driving her _mad!_ ーshe grabbed the roots of his hair and yanked his head back. Yanked _hard_.

"Ahh!" Wincing, eyes narrowed, he reached behind his neck and pulled her hands away. So she wanted something rougher, hmm? Oh, he could do _rough_.

Before he could kiss her again, or _bite_ her more likely, she put her fingers on his mouth. Breathing heavily, she swiped her hair from her face and pointed to several cameras scattered throughout the room high on the walls near the ceiling. "Get rid of them."

Jaw jutting out, Loki growled and stepped away from her. Pulling off his own jacket, he tossed it on the couch and walked toward one of the pesky contraptions. Jumping, he grabbed the camera from its spot seven feet over his head and ripped it out of the wall. He then proceeded to detach the rest as Sigyn wandered down the hall opening and closing doors. Bathroom. Another bathroom. A library. A room with a desk….business quarters perhaps? But where was...?

Throwing open the last door angrily, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank the Norns…"

The room had a positively _gigantic_ white bed, and the entire eastern facing wall was an exposed glass window flooding the room with light. It would have been lovely to wake up to, but not so lovely at the moment considering she was interested in sleeping. Well, not _just_ sleeping. She walked to the absurdly huge window and yanked on the drapes, laughing quietly at the sounds of Loki swearing at the " _evil fucking sneaky artificial little peeping monsters"_ and the resulting little crashes, which she assumed was the sound of Loki throwing them across the room.

She shrieked then, startled as his arms came around her from behind. _Oh gods._ He'd removed his shirt, and the feel of his exposed torso behind her was sending actual shivers down her spine. Leaning her head back on his shoulder, she reached up around the back of his neck as he bent down, kissing the hollow of her throat.

Opening her eyes, she pulled away abruptly, glaring at _another_ camera. " _By Hel!_ Tony Stark is the most _paranoid_ man I have ever met!"

"Paranoid? Or perverse _?"_ Sighing, Loki shook his head and removed it along with the other four in the room. Crushing them in his palm, he looked around, one eyebrow raised. "All clear?"

"I believe so, yes." She barely made out the words before his mouth was on hers again.

Unbuckling his belt with one hand as they kissed, he shoved her against the wall, or more accurately, _into_ the wall.

" _Ah! Ow!"_ Yelping into his mouth, the too soft dry wall crumbling behind her back, she winced.

Loki retracted his tongue, eyes flying open at her cry, and gaped at the wall before shaking his head quickly.

"So…." he touched the damaged wall with the tips of his fingers, "it would seem wall sex is out of the question then." Reaching down, he gripped her backside, and lifting her, he pulled her legs around him. "No matter. I'll take you anywhere." He looked around as though unsure where to go.

"Take me to the _bed,_ you fool." She chuckled into his hair, adoring the feel of his shoulders shaking, his throaty laugh tickling her ears. Gods, she loved him.

"Right." He nodded, smiling against her teeth as she kissed him. "That would be the natural choice. Now, let us rid ourselves of these pesky garments."

Setting her down none too carefully, he ripped the back laces of her leather armored corset and tossed the heavy garment on the floor, leaving only her loose grey wool tunic. Rather than pull it over her head, he grabbed the collar and split the fabric right down the middle. _This_ was a view he'd thought he would _never_ see again. The phrase ' _sight for sore eyes'_ didn't begin to cover it.

"Sig," he exhaled slowly as he yanked her pants down her legs, "you are even more _ravishing_ than I remembered." Squatting, he slid them forcefully over her ankles and looked up at her from under his brow, his inky locks hanging in his face.

"You've made good work of ruining my only clothes, Loki," she said, not remotely caring about the matter.

"And I'm not sorry in the slightest," he breathed and stood back to his full height.

Smirking, she jerked his belt through the loops on his pants, thoroughly enjoying its resounding ' _thwack.'_ Breathing heavily, she unzipped his pants and pulled him free. Groaning at the sensation, he backed her up into the bed. The backs of her knees colliding with the edge, she fell onto the soft duvet, and Loki landed on top of her.

"Umph!" _Odin's ravens,_ he was heavier than she remembered! He'd thoroughly knocked the wind out of her.

"Sorry," he whispered, pushing up on his elbows as the bed sagged under their weight.

 _Damn this human craftsmanship._ They were _not_ going to be able to be as aggressive in their lovemaking as he'd hoped. Well, they could, but it would have to be on the floor. Nothing wrong with floor sexーthey'd done it plenty before. Truly, they'd done it just about _everywhere_ during their time together. He couldn't think where they hadn't. They'd nearly marked all of Asgard for Hel's sake.

His hand sliding up her thigh, he pushed into her completely in one hard thrust. _Damn_ . She was tight. Almost _too_ tight. Even aroused as she wasーhis kisses had clearly worked her up, considering how fucking wet she wasーthe motion hadn't been easy. He felt her resistance, and her resulting hiss gave him pause. Oh gods, he'd hurt her. Maybe he should have been more gentle. He'd been dreaming of a moment like this since his fall, but obviously, never had the dreams included causing her pain. He'd _never_ caused her pain, but he'd not considered that it had been three months for her, too. Yes, he should have been more gentle, but he'd just _needed_ to be inside her desperately. _Selfish brute_ , he scolded himself silently.

Much to his surprise, and relief, she opened her eyes, grinning up at him, an eyebrow quirkedー _Why are you not moving, Loki? I_ need _you to move._

He answered her silent question out loud. "I thought I'd hurt you."

At the shake of her head, he nodded and arching his back, coming out completely before thrusting slowly this time, his jaw dropped, eyes closing. _Fucking Hel._ Having lost all desire for anything but _her_ during his captivityーhe'd not even touched himself in that timeーhe was far more sensitive than he would have liked. Gods, how was he going to make this last?! Three months. Three fucking months without her.

Tilting her hips up, hitting the exact spot that he knew pleased her the most, he kept his pace slow and steady, trying to focus on anything other than the euphoria rippling through his most sensitive nerve endings.

His speed increased gradually as her hands traveled down the muscles of his back, sliding his breeches over his backside in the process. Obviously, his front had been completely exposed by the open zipper, but why the Hel had she not taken those pants off yet?! She needed to feel, to see every single inch of his body before she woke up from this dream. She knew he hadn't grown in size, but it sure as Hel _felt_ that way. She wasn't certain if what she felt was pleasure or pain. _Oh shut up, Sigyn, you're fine,_ she chastised herself. Her body would adjust. It would open up for him. And indeed it did open up. For him. _Only_ him. The familiar push and the pull, the movement that was so distinctly _Loki_ and not just some second rate replacement, had her stifling a cryーa happy cry, a relieved cry, a _thank-the-norns-that-he-came-back_ cry.

"I can't…." Loki suddenly croaked into her mouth a small eternity later. _Small_ eternity indeed. He was impressed that he'd lasted this long, but his stamina was most certainly not up to par _,_ as they say. Hopefully she wouldn't judge his first performance in three months without taking everything into consideration.

She gripped his neck as her muscles tightened around himー _No, please don't stop! I'm so close! Oh gods, please, Loki, do_ not _stop!_

"Give me twenty more seconds…." she panted. Begged, more like.

His eyes went wideー _Twenty seconds, woman?!_

Was she mad?! _Fuck_ , he could _not_ do twenty seconds. He was far too gone and that at once both glorious and dreadful point of no return was upon him. Gritting his teeth, he drove deeper and harderー _gods, please don't break the bed...it would ruin everything!_ ーknowing the extra force would save him ten seconds….ten seconds that he didn't have left in him.

Eyes narrowing, he practically growled, "Come on, Sig. Come for me."

That was all it took. His deep throaty commanding voice, that aggression had _always_ been her weakness. There were times when lazy sweet sex was called for, but this was not that time. Not when she'd just found him again. Fast and hard and rough was exactly what she needed. Head falling back, mouth agape, she savored the shock waves of pleasure coursing through her body.

Cursing, with one more thrust of his hips, he came hard, shuddering against her, thanking the Norns that she'd finished first. Oh with just a bit more practice, they'd be right back to _endless_ sessions. He smiled at the thought. Panting against each other, covered in a thin layer of sweat, he leaned his forehead on hers as she combed her fingers through his hair. Grin spreading across her flushed cheeks, she bumped his nose with hers. She looked around, wondering when she would wake up.

Smiling at the sound of her thoughts, Loki shook his head. "You're not asleep, Sig. I'm really here."

Saying nothing, she wiped a stray tear from her eye and hugged him. He pulled back just enough to pull her mouth to his before grinning wide. He chuckled into her mouth, his shoulders shaking under her hands.

"What's so funny?" One eyebrow raising, Sigyn narrowed her eyes.

He smiled, winking. "I was just thinking that you truly know how to give a _warm_ welcome…..if a bit wet."

Laughing out loud at both his jest and the creaking of the made for mortals bed under them, they rolled to their sides, limbs still entangled. _Ah, sleep._ They were about to fall into the absolute best sleep of their lives. Free of all cares. Back where they belonged. Together in _one_ bed. Who cared that it was in Midgard? They would get back to Asgard eventually. He didn't know _how_ they would accomplish that, but hopefully he would learn how to use that damn cube. But….wait. How had Sig come here? Had the bifrost been repaired so soon? He squeezed her tighter, adoring the feel of her breath on his neck.

 _Stop thinking, Loki,_ he urged himself silently _._

There would be time for questions, for answers, for strategies, for treading softly, for _everything_ ….tomorrow.

 

 

* * *

_["Begin Again" Purity Ring (chapter song)](https://youtu.be/WaKErmO1f9s?list=PL8ts83qUe2BHNrVTKaChmgydESTDPGHFB) _

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sex in the first chapter? What can I say, I decided to start out with a bang. (ba dum tssh) I'm sorry. Not really.
> 
> Btw, my choice to use Nugent's song in Tony's penthouse is in no way an endorsement of his political views. I just think he is a fantastic guitarist. You'll have to excuse Tony's attitude, guys. Despite it seeming OOC compared to the films, it fits in with the plot, which is canon divergent anyway.
> 
> Playlist for "Fearless Immortals Loki/Sigyn Fanfic" is on Youtube. (I update the playlist with each chapter) Once again, it is chill/electronica in keeping with the tone of Frigid and Fallen. Heavy bass, so use good headphones if you keep up with the songs. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, guys. I update as I'm able!


	2. Talk Some Sense to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a new edit (and new chapter title) as of January 16, 2016. I wasn't happy with the old one. I've listed the changes in the end notes.

Loki awoke to the sound of….was that…. _drilling?_ His mind was foggy as though he needed a solid ten more hours of sleep. Hands roaming the surface underneath him, he grinned despite the grogginess. He was in a bedーa lavish and soft, albeit sagging under his weight, _bed_. He sighed heavily. He'd not slept on anything resembling a bed in three months. That first month in desert isolation he'd slept on a stone floor. The second two he'd been given a cot, too short for his long frame, with a thin blanket and no pillow. Needless to say, this was more than a _slight_ improvement. This was, in a word, _luxurious._

Opening his eyes slightly, he rubbed the sleep from them, and focused on the drawn dark drapes. Momentarily giddy, thinking they were _his_ drapes in _his_ chambers in the palace, he blinked rapidly before his mind cleared.

_Oh right._

He was in Stark's tower in Los Angeles. Forty-second floor. He turned to face Sigyn, only to find her missing. Sitting upright, he eyed the spot she'd occupied, and running a hand through his hair, he yawned. The sound that had awakened him must have been her moving about.

Tired as he was _still_ , the urge to see her forced his tired limbs out of the bed, and he tugged his dark jeans up his legs lest that sound be something other than Sigyn. Flexing his fingers, he grinned at the sight of green glowing at the tips, his magic returning a bit after some rest. Grabbing the wrinkled dark green t-shirt that he'd discarded hours ago, he pulled it over his head, and shuffling to a door within the bedroom, he pushed it open and poked his head inside.

"Sig?" he whispered, eyes sweeping across the dark room.

Taking up the majority of the space was a monstrous white tub that could have held Volstagg's girth comfortably. Nose wrinkling, he cringed at the thought of the rotund warrior in a bath. He pushed the door further open and walked to the separate shower, frowning at his reflection in the glass door. Blue eyes stared back at him.

_Please change back. Please._

Shaking off the sadness creeping into his bones, he touched a button on the digital panel. A waterfall rained down from one of two shower-heads, each a foot in diameter, and his lips forming an _o_ , he stepped back and shut the water off. _This_ was their lavatory? Sigyn and he could fit in this shower easily, with plenty of room for them toー

_Stop it, Loki,_ he scolded himself, rolling his eyes. These breeches were tight enough without growing hard as a damn rock. He scowled, missing _his_ garments….and... everything else from home. He was overjoyed to be with Sigyn once more, but he wanted to be with her in _Asgard_. Midgard would do for now, but he already felt his patience wearing thin. Scoffing, he shook his head. Was he actually _complaining?_ Good gods, he _was_. He was alive. He had made love to Sigyn just a few hours ago. What was _wrong_ with him?

Curiosity took over his mental whiningー _thank the Norns_ ーand he opened a door to a dressing room that was devoid of clothes save for a few robes. It wasn't as large as his was back home, thankfully, since he was getting a bit miffed about the mere _size_ of this place. Scratching the back of his head, he wondered idly how much a floor in Stark Tower Two would go for, when that damn whirring sound started again and stopped a few seconds later. Eyes narrowed, he left the bathroom and stepped into the hall, checking each room for her.

"Sig? Love? Where?"

The sound happened again, and Loki glared down the hall. Alright. This was becoming more than _slightly_ irritating. He followed the sound to one of the elevators. Pushing the up and down buttons repeatedly, which did not light up as they had before, he growled impatiently and pried open the doors with his fingers. He frowned at a set of large cables and wires, and holding on to the wall, he leaned over the edge. The box itself was at least ten floors down.

Hearing the concerned thoughtsー _Oh shit! Don't look up here. Please don't look up!_ ーof someone above him, he looked up and smirked at a woman dangling from the cables. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun, and she was clad in a long sleeved black shirt, clingy black breeches, and boots. One of those pesky nearly microscopic cameras in a small black gloved hand, knife in her mouth, she scrambled through a vent clearly meant for the cooling system.

"I wouldn't bother reattaching any of those devices," he called out, his voice echoing within the elevator shaft.

Shaking his head, he laughed quietly. Oh Stark. Sending someone to secretly install new security measures while he and Sigyn slept off the effects of interplanetary travel and long overdue sex? As though Loki wouldn't have noticed them again. _Preposterous._

Letting the doors slam together behind him, he turned back into the living room and plopped on one of the vinyl sofas. He wanted, no, _needed_ to find Sigyn, but the creeping of the woman through the vents above was impossible to ignore. Looking at the ceiling, he rolled his eyes and wiggled his fingers, green sparks at the tips. With a bit of magic, he need not jump to get the cameras she was inserting into the new holes she had drilled. Just the _tiniest_ bit of effort...

The resulting yelp directly above him hidden between the forty-second and forty-third floors was immensely gratifying. He grinned. _Mischief_ was back.

"Did I not tell you it was pointless to install them again?" he shouted loud enough for her lesser human ears to hear.

Every move she made, he followed, chuckling at her little shrieks. Oh come now. He was barely zapping her yet she was behaving as though her fingers were on fire.

Speaking of fire, he couldn't feel Sigyn through the bond. Why had he only _just_ now realized that? He'd felt her in Stark's lab in Catalina, so why could he not feel her here?

_Oh no._

Abandoning his pursuit of the agent's handiwork, he rushed to the _useless_ elevator, which clearly had been shut down by that insidious agent and pried the doors open once more, glaring at the cables. He was certainly strong enough to climb them, but it would have been much easier and faster if that damn box could have taken him up to Stark's penthouse. If that miscreant had done anything to her, Loki would kill him. Not that he believed Stark would actually do anything to herーStark was considered a hero in this realm, after all, and had offered them sanctuary despite his rather biting words last nightーbut Loki didn't personally know the man well enough to make that assumption.

Dammit, if only he'd had more sleep, his magic would be strong enough to simply teleport to the top floor. Just as he prepared to jump on the cables and ascend _sixteen_ floorsーfucking Hel, his muscles were _not_ looking forward to thisーhe started at the voice of Jarvis.

"Pardon my intrusion sir, but I am obligated to ask your intentions."

Trying to remain calm, Loki responded tightly. "I wish to see Sigyn, and since she is not in this condo," he rolled his eyes at the ridiculous word, "I mean to ask your creator if he knows where I might find her. Unfortunately, the elevator is not functioning properly, therefore my intentions were to climb up the cables."

"Mr. Stark would not know where your girlfriend is because he is still asleep. It is only five o'clock in the morning, sir. I, however, know that she rose two hours ago and went to the forty-fourth floor to see Dr. Foster."

Glaring at the ceiling, Loki swallowed back a myriad of angry words concerning Sigyn being called that asinine 'girlfriend' word again and pinched the bridge of his nose, swearing under his breath. Not only were the electronic properties of Jarvis' voice giving him a headache, but his stomach was empty and growling angrily at him. At least he knew that she was perfectly safe, and he need only ascend two floors now.

"You might find the stairwell to your right a simpler option than climbing the cables in the elevator shaft, sir," Jarvis offered.

Jaw clenched, Loki let the doors go, and ran up the stairs. He could have slapped himself for missing such an obvious solution.  Apparently his magic wasn't the only thing that needed more rest. His lack of brain power was positively shameful.

Opening the door to the forty-fourth floor, he smiled. Now _this_ floor was much more to his liking. Real wood, wrought iron, jade, aged brass and bronze, plush pillows and chaise lounges, candles, fur rugsーit was much like Asgard. He would ask Dr. Foster for a switch immediately.

Spotting a pair of closed doors, flickering light shining underneath the crack, he smiled and relaxed as Sigyn's solace joined the relief already flowing through his veins knowing he'd found her. The bond still worked, just not through the floors apparently. _How odd._ Brow furrowed, he pursed his lips. From what material had this tower been constructed?

Her teasing thoughts echoed in his earsー _Ah, my Sleeping Beauty has awakened. Has he come for true love's kiss?_

Smirking, he walked to the doors, his bare feet silent on the hardwoodー _Oh, you know he only_ comes _when he receives_ more _than a kiss._

She laughed out loud then, and he heard Jane's small voice saying, "What's funny?"

His smile grew at the sound of Sigyn's throaty laughー' _Tis a good thing indeed that Jarvis informed me of your whereabouts. I was beginning to panic. You might have left a note, love._

He could actually _feel_ the roll of her eyesー _I would have if I'd known the bond was not working properly, Loki. We were able to feel each other from all over Asgard, Loki. Why would it not work here? Something is amiss in this tower. I miss home._

Noddingー _As do I, Sig, and I'll take us back as soon as I can_ ーhe swung the doors open abruptly.

" _Fuck me!"_ Jane, eyes wide, nearly fell off a barstool in what was a scullery of sorts. What did the humans call it? Oh right. _Kitchen_.

"I'm afraid that activity is reserved for the lady to your right alone, Dr. Foster. Sorry to disappoint." Suppressing a laugh at Jane's near fall, Loki turned to Sigyn who had merely raised an eyebrow and grinned upon his intrusion.

Jane ran a hand down her face, speaking through her hands, her words muffled. "It's an expression of _shock_. It's not me requesting your _services_. Good god."

"I doubt most would call me a _good_ god, Dr. Fosー"

"Oh do stop it, Loki," Sigyn said, unable to stifle a small chuckle.

Winking, Loki walked to her, shoving her knees aside to step between them. He could care less that Jane was watching them as Sigyn's hands settled on his hips. Nobody would keep him from _his_ Sig. Nothing would. Never again. He would _never_ leave her again. The lack of strength in his arms would never fail him again. He'd seen to that these last months. Never again would two miserable feet of spear and weakened biceps rip him from her.

Running his fingers along the hem of the decidedly _short_ shorts, he whispered, "What are these?"

Clearing her throat, Jane looked awayーdid he have to do that to Sigyn  _right_ in front of her?ーand answered for Sigyn. "She's borrowing those from me, which I borrowed from Pepper, until the clothing stores downstairs open, and then we'll buy some new stuff for her. Obviously the clothes aren't her size, but that robe she was wearing was a bit….um….see through."

Loki sucked in his cheeks, his hands moving further up her thighs as he moved his mouth to her ear saying, "Those robes from the dressing room are sheer?" He smirked at her responding shiver and pulled back, raising his eyebrow.

Sigyn ignored the adorable grin creeping across his face. "If I'd known I would be staying, Loki, I would have packed a change of clothes. _Lovely_ as Midgard is," she winced at the ungrateful sarcasm seeping into her tone, "it isn't my home, and I had every intention of bringing Jane back and returning immediately. I told Sin I'd be back before dawn, and then I justー"

"Sin? _My_ Sin?" Cupping her chin, Loki forced her to meet his eyes.

She frowned, chewing her lower lip. "Well, technically he's _my_ Sin now. I love that horse."

Loki cocked his head, his earlier smile faltering. "You love _my_ horse. Sinir is _my_ horse. If I recall correctly, you have a horse of your own. Moda was her name, yes?"

"Yes, but I sent her back to Vanaheim. She is under the care of my sister Nanna now," Sigyn replied, looking at her hands.

Loki's couldn't quite control the twitch of his lips. "Well, you'll need to send for her. Sinir will want his _true_ master, after all."

Sigyn's jaw dropped a bit, and she met his eyes. "That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

Uneasy with the direction of Loki and Sigyn's conversationーwere they really arguing over a _horse_?ーJane interrupted. "You hungry, Loki? The fridge is stocked. As is the wine cooler." She jumped off the stool and walked to a glass wood-paned cabinet to grab the wine stems. Maybe alcohol would take the edge off.

Loki's stomach growled in response, but he ignored the question. Taking a seat, his long legs easily letting his feet lay flat on the deep sienna colored tiles, he sighed. Maybe he _was_ being a bit curt.

Softening his tone, he said, "Do not mistake my words, love. I am glad you care for him, but Sig, you can't just _take_ himー"

"Yes, yes. One horse. One rider. For life," Sigyn snapped, cutting him off, "but what would you have had me do? Should I have just let him go? I didn't see the harm. You wouldn't miss him. I mean you were _dead_ , after all."

He winced at the word 'dead,' and a painful wave of guilt crashed over her.

"Oh, oh gods, Loki, I shouldn't have said...I didn't mean...I'm...sorry. I'm just tired. Not that it excuses my words. Not in the slightest. I'm so sorry."

She held her head in her hands, feeling _awful_. How could she say something so _callous_ to the man she loved? The man she _adored_? After a moment that felt like an eternity to her, he nodded once, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. He was tired, too, and he didn't want to argue over something so childish. 

Looking at the pair, Jane frowned. Should she leave? This was getting pretty personal. Then again, they were in _her_ kitchen. Should she suggest they take it back to their floor? That might seem rude considering they both looked like they were on the verge of tears. Hopefully the wine would ease some of the tension that was steadily growing in the room. Reaching across the island, Jane slid two full glasses to them silently.

Nodding her thanks, Sigyn savored the taste. She hadn't had wine in _three months._ Loki hadn't been there to transform the too sweet mead served at the palace meals, so she'd stuck with water. If only she wasn't so damned scared of the Vanaheim portal _still_ , she would have traveled there just to bring back some of the finest red available. Gazing at the dark bottle on the counter, she smiled.

"This is delicious, Dr. Foster," she said, swirling the red liquid around her mouth before swallowing, relaxing as it traveled down into her stomach.

Jane rolled her eyes, and leaning forward, she spoke firmly. "I think you and I are beyond 'Dr. Foster' by now. Sig, please call me Jane."

Rather unsuccessfully, Loki attempted to control the narrowing of his eyes at Jane. " _Sigyn."_

"What?" Jane licked her lips, frowning as she set her glass down. What was _his_ problem?

"You may call her _Sigyn,"_ he clarified.

Pulling a face, the small brunette turned to Sigyn who made her best 'it's not a big deal' face and waved it off saying, "Only Loki has ever called me _Sig_. I think it best we keep it that way." She eyed Loki as he took another drink.

"Yes, it _is_ best," he agreed flatly.

Annoyedーum, _possessive_ much?ーJane nodded. Loki's reaction to someone else riding his horse had been overly dramatic, too. The guy had a serious jealous streak. Ugh. Thank god Thor hadn't been like that. If he had been, she wouldn't have given him a second look. Well, that wasn't true. He _was_ a sight to behold and definitely worth a second look. And a third. And many more looks. _God, those abs_....

Shaking her head quickly, hoping to clear her mind of the lust flooding it, Jane refilled Sigyn's glass after a moment. "I don't know anything about wine, but it's good, huh? Maybe a bit subtleー"

"No, it's lovely. It reminds me of the wine Loki concocted for me on several occasions."

Smiling, Sigyn nudged him with her shoulder, his responding wink making her heart race. Had they just argued? Over what? A horse?! Looking at him now, she couldn't care less. She had to stop herself from climbing onto his lap right then. Why were they sitting in Jane's kitchen rather than _destroying_ that bed two floors down? Staring at Loki's throat as he swallowed his drink was making it difficult to remember. With great effort, she removed her eyes from his Adam's apple and focused.

_Right_.

She'd awoken utterly famished, had stumbled sleepily to their kitchen, and had discovered an empty icebox. She drummed her fingers on the black marble. What had happened next? She'd asked that Jarvis creature where she might find Jane since she was absolutely not going to beg Stark for food like a _dog_ and hadー _thank the Norns_ ーcaught herself before exiting their floor completely nude. Loki had ripped her only clothes to shreds in his hasty removal of them, but mercifully she'd found that robe in the lavatory dressing room and had ventured up to Jane's floor through a stairwell she'd discovered. Her scientist acquaintance had been gracious enough to supply her with the too short but otherwise comfortable white shorts and a crimson t-shirt that said 'Harvard University' in white block letters across the chest and 'veritas' across the shoulder blades.

Loki's voice broke through her musings. "I'm a bit disappointed that you no longer need my magic."

When she furrowed her brow in confusion, he gestured to the wine bottle.

Leaning toward him, no more than an inch from his mouth, she whispered, "I will _always_ need your magic."

He kissed her but pulled back just as her tongue grazed his lower lip. "Sweet words aren't enough to earn my forgiveness," he paused, putting a finger on her lips, "for _stealing_ my horse."

Feeling as though she'd been punched in the gut, Sigyn frowned. Moment _ruined_. "Sin has been a _living_ piece of you for me. I needed him, Loki. Especially after what happened to Fen. I just couldn't bearー"

"Wait. What happened to _Fen?"_ Choking on the last word, tears filled Loki's eyes.

Not Fenrir. No, please. Not his wolf. Not his trusted companion who had helped him save her in Vanaheim and had been with him since he was nothing but a wolf pup. Loki couldn't stand any further heartbreak. _Please not Fen._

Shoulders slumping, Sigyn only looked down and shook her head. She couldn't face the pain in his eyes.

One tear fell down his cheek, and bottom lip barely quivering, he blew out a breath. "Right."

After a moment, she said quietly, "Lokiー"

"I am going to _end_ Thor." He punctuated each word, staring at the glass in his hand.

She paused, a bit stunned by his response. After all, Thor had had nothing to do with Fenrir's death. The battle in the palace had been out of her would-be brother's hands.

Searching Loki's face, she chose her words carefully. "I understand your anger. Truly I _do_ , but I do not think that is the solution. I've spent these last three months with him, hating him, wanting him dead for taking you from me, but not only is he your brotherー"

"He is _not_ my brother," Loki spat, crushing his glass in his grip, red blood mixing with the wine on the island's surface.

Eyes wide, Jane searched for a towel and threw it at him, afraid to get too close. Loki may have been beautiful, but he was proving himself to be dangerous. _Extremely_ dangerous.

Loki wrapped his hand with it, teeth clenching at the slight pain.

Sigyn blew out a nervous breath. "In every way other than blood he _is_ , and furthermore, he is your _mother's_ son. Do you wish to take him away from her? I've seen her, Loki. I've seen her without _you_. You cannot imagine her grief."

Eyes narrowing, his jaw dropped a touch. "You think _I_ don't know what _grief_ is? What _torture_ is? _Sigyn_ ー"

"Don't you dare ' _Sigyn_ ' me," she said, cutting him off. "You and I cannot fathom the loss of one's _child_."

"That may well be, but he is a _murderer,_ " Loki countered, fresh blood soaking the towel around his hand from squeezing his fist too tightly.

"As am I. As are _you._ Both of us. _Many_ times over. The blood on our hands alone is enough to fill the Eternal Sea." She could have thrown up her hands in frustration for all his refusal to at least _try_ to listen to reason.

Increasingly angry by the second, a deep frown creasing his forehead, Loki shook his head quickly. "That's hardly...that's _entirely_ different, Sig, and you _damn_ well know it."

"Oh do I? Do _you_?" Tears clouded her vision. Gods, he just wouldn't budge on the matter, would he? "Loki, surely you don't believe Thor is guilty of more sins thanー"

"Absolutely I do, _Sigyn,_ " he said, jaw clenched.

Glaring, she inclined her head. "Self-righteousness is a _nasty_ shade on you."

Slamming his fist on the marble, he shouted, _"ENOUGH!"_

Sigyn's mouth snapped shut, and Loki groaned, frustrated with himself for raising his voice at her like some brute. This was a woman for whom he would die a thousand deaths at least, and yet she was positively _infuriating_. Infuriating because every single word she spoke held the wisdom of one thousands of years her senior. He wanted to scream at her that Thor deserved no less than execution for his actions. Didn't he? Even if Fenrir's death had not been directly Thor's fault, still, who the fuck would break the bifrost?! Had he not killed Gylfi and his entire regiment with that absurd action?!

Running a hand through his hair, Loki sighed. Sigyn was right. He may have despised Thor, _for now_ , but he adored Frigga, and killing her son would effectively destroy Loki's relationship, which he fully intended to resume the instant he returned to Asgard, with his beloved mother. But outside of his relationship with Frigga, was Sigyn truly right? About the blood on their own hands? Were their crimes any less than Thor's?

She'd had three months to work through the events, and subsequently, her emotions. Loki, on the other hand, had had one month of pure torture followed by two months of mental, magical, and physical training, none of which allowed him to sort through the rage toward his brotherー _stop calling him that!_ ーand the dolt's idiotic and positively disastrous actions that day.

Not wanting to think on it any longer, he shook his head, and grabbing Sigyn's chin with his good hand, he pulled her mouth to his in a deep kiss which she returned with fervor. He didn't understand it. He was angry with her. No. With himself. With Thor. With everyone and everything. He just wanted to forget. Forget his anger and kiss her until he couldn't breathe anymore. Let all his blood drain from his overthinking brain and travel somewhere far more pleasant. He just wanted to lose himself inside of her.

Beyond uncomfortable at this point, Jane took a swig of her wine and said, "I think I'll finish this in my room." She disappeared around the corner. Sigyn and Loki had clearly forgotten Jane's presence. She doubted they would give a damn about her absence.

Grief. Confusion. Guilt. Shame. Regret. Sigyn felt every ounce of Loki's pain in his kiss. She knew he wasn't ready to talk about the happenings of the last three months. And he was clearly done discussing Thor. Fine. That was perfectly _fine_. If the only thing he wanted was her kiss, so be it. Anything she could do to dampen the effects of that pain, be it a kiss, a hug, a word, a look, an ear, a night or an afternoon or a morning or, Hel, an entire _day_ in the bedroom, she would do it. He needed it, and honestly, she needed it too. She loved him even moreーhow the Hel was that possible?ーthan before he'd fallen. The love that had _shattered_ her during the past three months was now healing her, healing him. It mattered not the hurt that surely lay ahead. No matter the knowledge that half her heartーno, not half but the _whole damn thing_ ーwas walking around in the care of someone else. It _had_ been all along. And despite the pain of it all, she would do it all over again. Loki was worth it. He was worth every second.

_Worth_.

That horrible word that seemed to plague him echoed through her mind as his tongue plunged expertly into her mouth again and again, his hands tangling in her hair. How ironic that he'd been trying to prove his worth for centuries. Trying desperately to be as worthy as Thor. Worthy of what? That damn hammer? Of his father's love? Of Asgard? Of the throne? Of the name _Odinson_? Oh that Loki could see it. See how truly worthy he was. How unfathomably priceless. How indescribably _precious_ . Just as he was. Right then and there. No princely garb. No regal airs. No heroics. Just _Loki_. Broken, beaten, betrayed, and utterly, _utterly_ beautiful Loki. If anyone had _worth_ in spades, it was Loki.

He was the first to pull away, and she couldn't help the slight pout of her lips. She'd hoped that kiss would progress into something else, but she pulled her fingers back from the button on his pants and put on a smile despite her disappointment. They were right in the middle of Jane's kitchen, after all. Not the most appropriate place for such activities.

Catching his breath, he tapped the island twice. "I like this floor more. A switch is in order." He called out to Jane. "Dr. Foster?"

Jane snuck her head around her door as though afraid to see what was transpiring between Loki and Sigyn. "Yeah?"

"Do come out. You needn't shield your eyes." Loki chuckled as she opened the door entirely, her empty wine glass in hand.

"I suppose I could use a refill."

 

* * *

 

With very little prodding, Jane agreed to switch floors with Loki and Sigyn. It was easy enough. She had only a messenger bag and Sigyn and Loki had _nothing_. Once the sun had come up and the shops on the bottom floors were open, Jane, Sigyn, and Pepper ventured out to purchase some things to get them through their extended stay on Earth.

Sigyn, clad in one of Pepper's black pencil skirts and a white oxford paired with pointy black heels, which were called 'stilettos' apparently and hurt like _Hel_ , traveled down the elevator alongside Jane and Pepper. Having worn tall shoes and boots ever since she'd grown to her full _towering_ height of five foot six at eighteen years old, she was quite adept at walking in them, but there was no cushioning at all in _these_ and the heels themselves were absurdly thin. Loki had cast a strengthening spell on the ridiculous things just so they wouldn't break under her weight. She'd wanted to wear her own boots, but Pepper had insisted the boots would look out of place enough to bring unwanted attention. Rolling her eyes, Sigyn had complied. She'd supposed Pepper had a point.

 

* * *

 

Three hours after Sigyn had left grumpily with Jane and Pepper, the elevator dinged and Loki, simmering in the clawfoot tub on their new forty-fourth floor, smiled at the _clack clack clack_ of those little black heels she'd worn. Who knew that her legs could be even _more_ stunning all because of a pair of shoes? As much as he loved Asgard, he had to admit that the mortals knew better how to make beautifully enticing footwear.

Her exasperation, apparent by the huffing sounds coming from the other room, invaded his prior contentment, and he sighed. _Poor_ _Sig_. It must not have been a pleasant morning for her. Setting aside the first edition 1922 copy of James Joyce's _Ulysses_ , he reached down and pulled out the drain. Steam rose from his skin as he stood and wrapped a white towel around his waist. He walked down the hall, finger combing his hair, leaving little puddles of water with every step. Poking his head around the corner, he found Sigyn with her head in the icebox, grumbling about there being no apples but only citrus fruits. Stepping quietly behind her, he grabbed her hips, pulling her back into him.

"Ahh!" Shrieking, she spun in his grasp ready to smack him for scaring her but stopped short, unable to suppress a whisper of ' _fuck_ ' as she looked him up and down.

Smirk on his face, he put his mouth to her ear. "Was that a request?"

_Oh Valhalla._ Just _look_ at him. She caught herself before blurting out _'yes, please.'_ Thanks to that shopping excursion, they had run out of time.

Fiddling with his towel, she sighed. "Stark wanted answers by midday, which I believe has come since that maddeningly bright star of theirs is directly overhead."

"Fuck Stark," Loki breathed, kissing her neck.

"Um, no thank you," she replied, clearing her throat.

Laugh rumbling in his chest, he pulled away. "I most certainly did _not_ meanー"

"I know what you meant, you stunningly gorgeous man," she said, her hand wrapping around his neck and bringing him down for a kiss. Just as he attempted to deepen it, she pulled back, and Loki scowled, trying to follow her mouth as she gestured to the bags on the counter.

"You'd better see if those fit. I think the sizing system here is deliberately meant to confuse. Apparently I am a small, sometimes medium, and a four, sometimes a six, sometimes an eight, and a 34B, whatever that means. I do not understand how I can be _all_ those things at once."

She threw her hands up, putting a great deal of effort into not screaming ' _I want to go home!'_ as a child might. Pointing to the bags Loki was rummaging through, she grumbled, "I haven't a clue what _you_ are. I asked Jane for help."

He paused, an eyebrow quirked at black lace peaking out of a cinched bag. Opening the bag, he pulled out somethingーwas this a _garment?_ ーa boyish grin spreading across his face as he dangled one of its flimsy little straps from his forefinger.

"Pray tell, Sig, what is _this?"_

She scratched the back of her head, lips in a straight line. "It's called a bra."

Loki smirked at the lacy little thing before looking back to her, and his eyebrows raised slightly at the expression on her face. Was his fearless little lover actually blushing? He'd not seen a proper blush on her since their experiment with his double. How interesting.

"I require you to put this on at once, Sig. It is absolutely imperative."

Looking out the window again, she scowled at the midday brightness. She knew where this was going, and they didn't have time to do it. Did they? Stark deserved his answers in a timely manner. After all, he was the one providing them with a luxuryーby Earth's standardsーhome during what would hopefully be a relatively short stay, and they hadn't exactly behaved gratefully. She then looked back at the tall towel clad raven haired flawless man standing not four feet from her, his head cocked to the side, grinning crookedly, and _oh_ if he wasn't just temptation personified in all his glistening fair skinned glory...

Stark would have to wait.

Removing her shirt, she unhooked the nude colored bra she'd been wearing as Loki tossed her the black one. Once she'd fastened the pesky clasps at the back, she crossed her arms suddenly shy. Good gods, why was she shy? It was nothing he hadn't seen before!

Loki licked his lips quickly, sauntering toward her, clearly admiring the view, and her breath hitched when he played with the lace at the top, her abdomen twisting in a pleasurable knot as his fingers grazed the underside of the fabric.

Running a hand through his still wet hair, he then placed his hands on his hips. "I must say I can't see any practical purpose for such a garment, but it is most entertaining for _me._ "

He then grabbed her by the waist, and hoisting her onto the counter, he pushed her skirt up her thighs. She kicked off her shoes, and he caught them before they fell to the floor, shaking his head, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"These stay on," he whispered against her ear as he replaced them. "They are just…. _sexy_ as Hel."

Leaning her head to the side to give him more access to her neck, she moaned, loving the way the word 'sexy' rolled off his tongue. She'd never heard him say that.

Her hands tangling in his hair, she responded weakly, "Alright…"

She trailed off as he gripped her hips, pulling her to him. Sliding that little swath of fabric she'd been wearing underneath her skirt down her legs and over those lovely black heels, he let his towel drop, and pushing into her, he groaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Gods, it was good to be home. And by 'home,' he meant Sigyn.

 

* * *

 

Sigyn swiped a soapy cloth she'd found under the sink across the black countertop. To her, it seemed the logical thing to do, considering the act that had just occurred on its glossy surface. Loki shook his head as he pulled a dark green cable knit sweater with three quarter length sleeves over his head and zipped the fly of his new jeans. The future queenーyes, _queen,_  for he most certainly _would_ be king againーof Asgard was scrubbing in the kitchen like a scullery maid.

_Ridiculous_.

Opening the icebox, brow furrowed in confusion at the assortment of beverages, he grabbed a bottle filled with dark liquid and twisted off the cap. He took a sip, nodding at the rather pleasant taste, and watched her throw the cloth in the sink.

"I think you scoured it hard enough to scratch Stark's precious marble." Loki looked more closely at the counter, running his fingertips along the surface. "Oh you _did_ scratch the marble. Well done."

He smiled wide as she kicked his shin playfully. "Come now, Sig. You know very well that we don't have the same _unhygienic_ issues as the humans. So many diseases are transferred through theirー"

"Oh stop! I do not wish to talk of such crass things," she said cutting him off and leaned back against the counter, arms crossed. 

Puppy dog eyes in place, he frowned. "Forgive me?"

Rolling her eyesーhe had her absolutely _wrapped_ ーshe kissed his cheek and swiped his drink. She puckered her lips and made a face. "I think I'll stick with wine. Now," she paused pulling him to the barstools and sat, "we must speak before we see Stark."

Loki placed his finger over her mouthー _Not aloud, love_.

Sigyn noddedー _Of course. How did you get here? And don't say you used the cube. That's obvious, Loki._

He rolled his eyesー _Sigyn..._

_I hate when you call me that! You sound so patronizing. We just don't have time for your little quips and_ ー

_Stop_ ーhe snapped, his eyes narrowingー _This is not an enjoyable subject for me to discuss. It's hardly something I could jest over._

Heat flooded her cheeks. He was right. Of all times to scold him, this was not the timeー _I'm sorry._

He ran his thumb across her cheek and kissed her foreheadー _There's nothing for which you need apologize. I shouldn't have snapped, love. I'm just….uneasy thinking about all of this._

Closing his eyes, he sighed heavilyー _I traveled through the cube by the power of the person who_ ーhe paused, hating that the next word would hurt herー _tortured me. I was never given his name, only that I would learn it once I'd accomplished my task._

She held back tears. She'd guessed that he'd been tortured, but hearing him give truth to it was an _entirely_ different thing. Deciding it best to not interrupt with some absurd revenge plan or whatever other ridiculous idea she might concoct in her anger toward the monster that had broken him, she kept her thoughts quiet as he continued.

_My mission is to either learn of the human defenses surrounding the cube and report back, or even better for the one who sent me, I am to steal it and bring it to him._

She didn't realize she was gaping at him. He was working _for_ the being who had _tortured_ him?

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Loki used one finger to push her jaw back upー _You don't think I would actually do any of that do you?_

He didn't wait for her responseー _I said I would do it only to escape that dreadful desert. I will not do his bidding. Fret not, Sig. I've not gone mad._

Relaxing a bit, she squared her shouldersー _What is your plan then? You can't just snatch it up from the humans when you know not where they've hidden it and take it to Asgard. You do want it in the vault, yes?_

He noddedー _Of course it belongs in the vault, but I can't get it there until I learn how to wield the cube. I intend to gain the trust of the humans, though Tony Stark is making it quite difficult to behave myself. One draws bees with honey, not vinegar. Dr. Selvig and Dr. Foster have extensive knowledge due to their research in New Mexico before Thor appeared. Perhaps with our combined magic and their knowledge, we might create something akin to the bifrost? It sounds absurd, yes, but I think it's a better plan than attempting to wield an infinity gem. I'm not powerful enough….yet. We absolutely must align ourselves with the humans because one thing is for certain. If he comes after me, we'll not only need an army prepared to defend this world and keep the cube out of his hands, but I wouldn't mind some protection of my own. Just as a precaution._

She quirked an eyebrow as he took a deep breathー _You said something that I think is worth revisiting. Why do you need to learn to wield the cube?_

Loki cocked his head, a bit baffled that a woman of her intelligence needed to askー _I should think that was fairly obvious, Sig._

They needed to return to Asgard, did they not? The cube would only be safe from his torturer if it was in the vault. Not to mention, he would only be safe in Asgard with the cube locked away. And unless the bifrost had been repaired, they were quite stranded in this little world. Wait…

_Has the bifrost been repaired, Sig?_

Shaking her head rapidly, she propped her chin on her knucklesー _No, and Heimdall is blind actually, but that is an entirely different story_.

Loki's jaw droppedー _Heimdall is blind?! How the….?_

She sighed, smoothing his hair behind his earー _In the observatory when the Jotun struck him in his face._

Loki fumed. He'd never been _close_ with the gatekeeper, but the idea of his one purpose, his sight, just gone was so absurdly cruel that he wanted to rip apart every piece of furniture in this lovely kitchen.

She stroked his hand with her thumbー _Calm yourself, Loki._

Nodding, he squared his shoulders, his eyes wide suddenlyー _If the bifrost has not been repaired_ ーhe couldn't believe that he'd forgotten to ask her thisー _then how did you get here?_

Still baffled over Heimdall's eyes, Loki stared at her. Sigyn burst out laughing, the sound nearly knocking him off his chair. He certainly hadn't expected her to react like _that_.

Attempting to control the shaking of her shoulders, she gaped at himー _Have you clean forgotten?_

Loki shook his head. He was beyond confusedー _Forgotten what?_

Grabbing his face, she kissed him square on the mouth, happy as could be, and pulling away, she smiled wideー _I used the portal you found in Silver Lake, you daft man! I searched your journals for a month hoping to find a portal to Midgard to bring poor Jane back._

It took him a moment to grasp her words, and when he did, he could have slapped himself for his own idiocy. By Odin, the portal! He could have wept with joy. Of course, he still needed to find where Stark had hidden the cube, naturally, and that would mean proving his trustworthiness to these people. He didn't know how long that would take. Hopefully, no more than a week….maybe two. Once he knew where it was located, he would use his magic, and Sig's, to steal the blasted thing and return home. His torturer wouldn't be able to harm Midgard or _any_ realm. All would be right as rain. Rain. Storms. _Thunder_. He paused, a deep frown furrowing his brow as Thor's face flashed across his vision. _No_. He would think of Thor later. That relationship was not as easy as ' _he is dead to me_ ' like he'd thought it was. Not now, after Sig had reminded him of what killing him would do to his mother.

With both hands, he grabbed her face. "Sig, you're _brilliant_!"

Eyes narrowed, she pursed her lips. "Surely you are not _just now_ discovering that?"

Smiling hugely, he put his forehead on hers, but pulled away, glaring at the ceiling as the electronic voice of Tony Stark filled their kitchen.

"Good afternoon, my little extraterrestrial love bugs."

Loki feigned shock, his hand on his chest. " _Jarvis_? Oh dear. What ever happened to your voice? Forgive me for saying so, but I think it's quite a downgrade in your software." He smiled, winking at Sigyn as she chuckled quietly. She was impressed that he knew the word 'software' at all.

"Ooooh, sassy Loki is still sassy after his nap," Tony deadpanned.

Taking another swig of his beer, Loki smirked, somewhat amused. He could appreciate Stark's wit a bit more now that he knew they had an easy route home.

Stark cleared his throat. "I decided to forgive you for _accidentally_ destroying my house…."

"Excellent news, indeed," Loki interrupted.

"...and then you ripped up my walls."

"Oops." Loki grinned.

"Yeah, _oops_. I don't recall you even saying thank you for your _free_ housing. Not to mention I now have to replace that counter."

Brow furrowed in confusion, Sigyn turned to look at the counter behind her. _What ever is he talking_ ーher thoughts came to an abrupt halt, eyes wide.

" _Oh gods!"_ She laid her head in her hands, mortified. She hadn't considered the security measures that Stark had installed on _this_ floor.

Loki pursed his lips, risking a smirk at her. "Well, I hope it was most inspiring, Stark."

_You think him seeing us have sex is funny?!_ ーshe slapped at his shoulder, just missing as he moved out of the way laughing.

"You may be surprised to know this, but not _everyone_ wants to see your ass, Loki," Tony said.

"You certainly didn't have to _watch_ ," Loki pointed out.

"You think _I_ watched? How sick do you think I am? Don't answer that. No, I overheard one of the security guards talking about it….ick….whatever. Change of subject."

"Thank you!" Sigyn shouted, struggling against Loki as he pinned her arms at her side.

_I swear I'll turn your hands into toast if you don't let go!_ ーshe glared at him.

_Stop trying to slap me, and I will!_ ーhe laughed and kissed her, unable to help himself. She was just so damned tempting when she was angry.

_Ahh!_ ーhe let go abruptly, blowing cool breath on his now burnt fingers.

_You had fair warning_ ーshe shrugged, smirking as he gaped at her.

_You'll pay for that, woman_ ーeyes narrowing, he pursed his lips.

Eyes wide, she put a hand to her throatー _Ooh, I'm shaking in my stilettos._

They laughed then as Stark's voice interrupted their silent words. "By the way, Alice, the new clothes are lovely."

"Enough with the _Alice_ shit," Loki groaned, running a hand down his face.

"Fine fine fine. I'll ease up on the nicknames, Mister Rabbit. If anyone has a reason to be genuinely upset, though, it's me. And not just because I really have been generous with my time. Believe me. Come on upstairs. There are a few guys up here you need to meet."

"Can't wait," Loki muttered.

Sigyn stood with him. "You'll need to grant us access to your penthouse, Mr. Stark. Your elevators are not in working order."

"Just push the button. It'll work this time," Stark promised and went silent as they stepped into the elevator and pushed the fifty-eighth button.

Arriving at the top floor, they walked in to find not only Tony but Coulson, Jane, Erik, Pepper and two other men. Tony greeted them with a smile, all teeth. Though it seemed to Loki that the man's irritation wasn't aimed at the Asgardians. Maybe it hadn't been all along. Maybe Loki had misinterpreted the famous billionaire's ire. No, it was clear that Stark had been in the midst of something much bigger and far more unpleasant than just a blown up house to anger him prior to Loki and Sigyn's arrival, which to be fair, was a valid enough reason to be angry.

"Loki and Sigyn," Tony nodded to them and then gestured to the men they didn't recognize, "meet Nick Fury and Steve Rogers."

 

 

* * *

  _["Speak Easy" Mansionair (chapter song)](https://youtu.be/gc_rJHpXeEk?list=PL8ts83qUe2BHNrVTKaChmgydESTDPGHFB)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typically read through (more like skim) the entire series every time I write/edit a new chapter to make sure I don't run into any plot or character inconsistencies. Amazingly, EVERY time I find something about a previous chapter that I redo or remove(can you say 'perfectionist'?), but usually they're not significant enough to warrant mentioning. However, this particular chapter was. It was bloated in places and not explanatory enough in other places. 
> 
> I gave the shopping scene the ax. I just found that scene altogether annoying. I cut out some of the irritation between Stark and Loki. After all, Stark had a chance to get a good night's sleep, too. His attitude should have improved a bit. I also added some inner dialogue for both Loki and Sigyn to give more perspective on their thoughts/plans concerning Thor. I want it to be clear that Sigyn is completely devoted to NOT killing Thor, and I want it be clear that Loki is battling with himself over the issue. 
> 
> Updates are painfully slow, guys. I'm really sorry. But thank you for reading.


	3. Endless Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Serious Frigga feels and inner dialogue ahead.

 

 

_~Asgard, three days ago, the night Sigyn took Jane home~_

 

Despite the freezing winds whipping across the open air balcony, the royal business quarters were positively _stifling_.  Frigga was tired.  Beyond tired.  Her bones _ached_.  She was trapped in a palace, playing king to the realm eternal, and all she wanted to do was leave.  

Rubbing her temples as the headmistress from Vanaheim’s academy of healing seiður blathered on about …. somethingーsomething that Frigga could care less about in her current state of mindーshe sighed.  She’d stopped listening.  In truth, she’d never _started_ listening.  From the moment the insufferable Vanir healer had walked in the room, Frigga had checked out mentally.  

Desiring sanctuary from the barrage of complaints and requests from the foreign nobles and dignitaries and representatives who had been stuck in Asgard, no thanks to a broken bifrost, for three months now, Frigga had retired from the throne room five hours ago, and yet this woman seated across from her just _had_ to see the queen about an urgent matter.  Everything was _urgent_.  Everyone had an _urgent_ need.  Every single one of them.  Frigga’s seemingly endless patience was reaching its breaking point. 

Doing her best to hide the roll of her eyes, Frigga smiled at the woman, though it was strained at best, and cut her off with a wave of her hand. “I shall speak with the king _again_ at first meal tomorrow morning, Fiora.  I do not know what more you think I can do.  As you know, Thor has taken a great deal of responsibility in the reconstruction of the bifrost.  It is his number one concern, and I must agree with him.  Without it we are not only near powerless, but we are unable to transport you along with _all_ our esteemed guests back to your realms.”

Fiora rubbed the back of her neck and nodded though a frown made deep creases in her brow. “Indeed, his majesty is quite right to put tireless effort into the bridge.  Though I can see that the responsibilities that he has heaped on you are overwhelming.”

Frigga stared blankly at her, choosing to ignore the thinly veiled insult.

“I imagine he feels responsible for its demise,” Fiora continued, “but _surely_ you have more knowledge as to the timeline.  I have no way of communicating with my professors at the academy.  It is not only our pupils who need instruction, but the teachers require my expertise.  I am wrought with worry.  Our people come to the healing rooms at the academy when in dire need.  Without me I fear thatー”

“You are not the _only_ foreign representative trapped in Asgard,” Frigga interrupted, her voice raising a touch, “and I must oversee every single need by delegation.  I am only _one_ woman, and I’d ask you to keep that in mind when you decide to request audience with me _after_ business hours.  Your concern is, like every other concern, of great importance, but my hands are tied without the bifrost in working order.  No, as I have already stated, I do not know when it will be complete.  We’ve never dealt with a broken bridge before, therefore I cannot give you specifics.  My son informed me yesterday that they are more than halfway now.”

Fiora blew out a hot breath, her cheeks tinting a bit at the queen’s tone, and she stood. “I’m sorry to have _disturbed_ you.” She curtsied and made for the door but paused in her retreat at Frigga’s voice.

“Eir has asked for your help in the healing rooms,” Frigga offered, rising to her feet. “Our gatekeeper is still in need.  His sight is imperative not only to Asgard but to _all_ the realms.  Truly, I believe your expertise would be of great help in his surgery this week, and surely that is preferable to just waiting.  Vanaheim is known for its expert healing magic.  Your rivers overflow with it.  With your background from a different realm, your help might be the difference for which Eir has been looking.”  

Stunned by Frigga’s words, Fiora turned quickly, eyes wide, head tilted sideways. “Eir requested me _personally_?” At Frigga’s nodding, Fiora straightened her shoulders. “In that case, I will of course attend to your gatekeeper’s needs.  I live to heal.  It is my greatest calling.”

Relief flooded Frigga’s veins, and she smiled brightly.  At least one _crisis_ had been averted today.  That, and Eir truly believed the headmistress from the academy would help to finally heal Heimdall.  Vanir magic was so unlike Æsir magic, and though Eir was the most practiced and capable healer in Asgard, she wasn’t so arrogant as to refuse help, or ask for it.  

Fiora curtsied once more and left without another word.

Gesturing for the guards to close the doors, Frigga walked to the balcony, the pleasantly cold air relieving the claustrophobic heat of the room.  Cold.   _Freezing_ cold.  She thought of Loki then.  

Her boy.  Her baby boy.  Her _beloved_ boy.  He’d always loved cold days, complaining of Asgard’s constant warmth.  Hanging her head, she gripped the stone railing, its ice covered surface burning her fingers.  She could hear his voice even now.

_“Mother, you’ll freeze!  What do you think you are, a frost giant?  Come back inside.”_

He’d said those very words to her not seven months ago.  Before he’d met Sigyn.  Before he’d gone with Thor to Jotunheim on that foolish quest for ‘answers’, as Thor had claimed.  Before he’d learned the truth.  Oh Loki, _darling_ .  They should have told him.  From the moment he could have comprehended the term ‘adopted’, they should have told him.  Memories, _dreadful_ memories slithered through her mind, his once words cutting her right to the bone.

_“I always knew I was different…”_

_No, please stop_ ーFrigga let go of the railing, one hand rubbing the back of her neck, the other covering her mouth to stifle a cry.

_“At the basest level, one could not, upon looking at us, see even a_ slight _family resemblance…”_

_Loki, please_ ーshe swallowed back a sob.  Tears poured down her cheeks, her own words spoken to him the day he discovered the truth mocking her.

_“We made a mistake, dearest.”_

_You were a_ fool _, Frigga_ ーshe clutched her stomach, an ache worse than a knife wound twisting her insides.

His answer had wrecked herー _“Mistake?  Mistake?! That’s a fucking_ huge _mistake!”_

_Please, a moment’s peace, my son_ ーher grief was unbearable.  How could it hurt like this _still?!_  Emerald eyesーeyes full of tears, full of pain, full of _betrayal_ ーhaunted her.

_“Loki Laufeyson…”_

Frigga screamed aloud then, “ENOUGH!”

She gripped her head in agony as two guards bolted into the room then, their faces wrought with concern. “Your grace?  Are you hurt?”

Grabbing her skirts and wiping her cheeks dry, she turned and smiled weakly. “I am fine.”

Bowing, frowns gracing their features, the guards left her alone, and she returned to the desk.

Another voice echoed in her mind, and for a moment she thought it was real.  She turned in a circle searching for its owner.

_“You dote on him far too much, Frigga.  You forget that you have_ two _sons…”_

“Odin?” She crossed the room to the doors of her husband’s room and pushed them open forcefully.  Still enshrouded in the golden restoring magic of the Odinsleep, the Allfather hadn’t moved.

“You forget that you have _two_ sons, Frigga,” she repeated Odin’s once words.  She wrung her hands and exhaled slowly. “Oh Thor, promise you won’t leave me, too,” she spoke to the empty room. “I cannot lose both my boys.”

Frigga longed to speak with her eldest son.  He’d become more and more reclusive with each passing day, not that she blamed him.  The throne was more burden than it was privilege.  That was, if its power did not corrupt, if one desired to do what was right and true and good and just.  And regardless of what may or may not have been said about him in the taverns as of late, Thor was a _good_ man.  He wanted to do what was right, what was best for the realm, and despite the weariness Frigga felt due to her incessant duties, she now trusted Thor’s judgment call to complete the bridge first and foremost.  No doubt he felt personally responsible, and perhaps serving on his hands and knees in freezing rain was something akin to penance for his actions, in his mind.  

Yes, the bridge occupied most of Thor’s time, but even when he wasn’t doing the backbreaking labor, Frigga rarely saw him outside of shared meals.  She’d asked trusted guards and servants to report his whereabouts to her, and it wasn’t long before she knew his secret sanctuary.   _Sif_.  Frigga didn’t judge him for abandoning Jane in favor of his longtime friend.  Not one bit.  He didn’t need any further judgment than that which was heaped upon him from the rest of the realm.  Not only that, but Thor had known the war goddess since he could barely walk, and they had been good friends from the start.  And at a time like this, when he was obviously still drowning in grief over Loki, he needed the deep love of a friend more than anything a pretty little human could give. Granted, he could have handled the situation more tactfully, but Frigga wasn’t about to bother him with it.  He was a big boy, and he needed to learn from his own mistakes.  

Thor had lost far more than just Loki on that horrid day when the Jotuns had attacked.  In the eyes of the people, and Frigga was well aware of their fickle nature, Thor had lost his worth as not only a prince but as a man.  No one spoke poorly of him to Frigga directly, but the palace walls had ears, and she was privy to the nastiest of gossip.  No doubt he heard it, too.  She was quite sure that his actions were in direct response to their people’s hasty judgment.  

Once more, Loki came to the forefront of her mind.  Her youngest had always felt small in the eyes of his father.  She was sure that _smallness_ , that feeling of insignificance, of being less than Thor, had dictated Loki’s more devious tricks.  Why should Loki have bothered to be a _good_ boy when his own father had never praised his efforts?  Odin had only heaped attention on Loki in order to discipline or correct him.  It was no wonder Loki had chosen to misbehave, to put it _lightly_ , so often.  Frigga had constantly encouraged Odin to show more affection toward their adopted son, but Odin had waved her concerns off.  Odin had deemed it more important to focus on Thor in order to shape him into ‘king material’ as he’d once told her.  She knew her husband had loved Loki, in his own way, but it hadn’t been what Loki needed.  Not even _close_.  Of course, she knew this wasn’t just her husband’s fault.  She’d had plenty opportunity to reveal the truth to Loki.  She’d chosen to trust Odin’s judgment though.  Oh how wrong she had been.

Frigga sat down next to Odin’s bed and held his hand. “You have no idea how much I miss our son,” she said to his sleeping form, “and don’t you dare tell me to concern myself with our other son.  Thor is...well...he’ll be _fine_ , but I just cannot stop thinking of Loki.  You never even _knew_ him, love!  You brought that beautiful little raven haired baby home one day, and you were so full of pity, full of _hope_ for him, but dearest….you just….you just…. _gave up_ on him….” she trailed off, rubbing her eyes furiously.   _Dreadful tears_ .  Would they never stop stinging her eyes?  Did they _enjoy_ her pain?

So many memories could overwhelm her at any given moment, but more often than not, it was her last moment with Loki, and it was the one flooding her senses now.  She could smell the leather of his armor, hear his panicked breaths, and worst of all she could see his expression, so wrought with fear as clear as day in her mind.  Yes, he had been concerned for Frigga’s well being, having materialized in Odin’s bedchamberーthe very room she was seated in now.  He’d abandoned the battle outside the palace, and Frigga had been overwhelmed to think he’d come to save his parents.  What a _wonderful_ son!  How much did he truly love them despite his claims they were not his parents?  Her heart had been so full in that moment.  

But then black mist had covered the white hot flames burning Laufey’s body, and the truth of Loki’s sudden appearance had come crashing over Frigga like a cruel wave.  It was _Sigyn_ he’d come for.  Frigga had seen it in his eyes.  Tears had soaked his cheeks, his jaw had dropped, he’d tossed aside Gungnir carelessly, and one name had been on his lipsー _Sig_.  Nothing else had mattered to him in that moment.  Not his parents.  Not the throne.  Not the frost giants.  Not Asgard.  All he had seen was Sigyn.

Frigga loved Sigyn like a daughterーshe still did!ーbut the the pain of seeing Loki, of clinging to him when he’d arrived, only to have him run to Sigyn had crippled her.  

_“Stay with Father,”_ he’d said, cradling his lover in his arms despite his many injuries.  

And then he’d left her.  That had been Frigga’s last vision of him.  No goodbyes.  No last _‘I love you’_ .  Just gone.  A flurry of green and gold and blood rushing to the healing rooms with the one thing in the universe that mattered more than anything else.  Perhaps his deep love for Sigyn was the exact reason why Frigga wanted to see her would have been daughter in law as often as she could.   _Wonderful_ Sigyn had bound herself to Loki in a way no one else had even attempted to, and she was a living breathing piece of him in many ways.  

_You have_ two _sons, Frigga!_ ーshe berated herself silently and stood to her feet, determined not to let the grief win at _this_ moment.  She didn’t know how she would handle the _next_ moment, but _this_ one she would conquer.

_Two sons.  One dead.  One alive.  Focus on the one who is alive.  Thor.  Good, loving, golden Thor._

If only he would just _come to her_ in his grief rather than letting it swallow him whole, then Frigga wouldn’t feel the need to chase after Sigyn.  Thor was all she had left until Odin awoke, and she had no idea why he hadn’t awakened yet.  It had never taken this long before.  Sigyn was like a daughter, but Thor was her _true_ son, and Frigga wanted to see him overcome his despair more than anything.  

_My dear boy, our people will forgive you in time!_ _Look how they forgave your brother!_

Yes, their forgiveness had been too little too late for Loki, but that would not be the case with Thor.  She knew it wouldn’t be.  Thor was capable of ruling.  He was a warrior.  He was a leader.  In time, they would see that.  Once the bifrost had been repaired, and he took back his kingly duties they would see that.  He wasn’t the arrogant prince he’d once been.  He’d been humbled more than enough to shatter that part of him.  Thor could do this, and by Hel he could do it _well_.  She had faith that Eir, with Fiora’s help, would finally heal Heimdall.  Everything would be as it was.  Odin would awaken, and he either would or wouldn’t resume his position as king.  If he did, he would continue to prepare Thor to one day take the throne.  If not, Thor would remain king, and he would have guidance from the Allfather himself.  Yes, in time all would be made right as right as rain.

Leaving Odin’s bedchamber, Frigga finger combed her hair and rubbed a thumb under her eyes.  That had been quite enough grief for the day.  She needed to see Thor, but she knew he was with Sif, and she refused to interrupt them.  Straightening her gown, she grabbed a heavy blue sash and wrapping it around her shoulders since the halls of the palace felt too cold when she was this exhausted, Frigga left quietly to find Sigyn.  

Walking the long hall to Loki’s old chambers, she nodded to the guards that bowed from their posts.  The tall dark doors that had shimmered bright green in the cracks when Loki had wished to be alone now pulsed with black smoke.  Frigga rolled her eyes.  Well wasn’t that just brilliant.  Apparently Sigyn was in no mood to speak either, but she knocked softly nonetheless and waited a few moments.  Sighing when no one answeredーit was odd for Sigyn, little night owl that she was, to be asleep at this hourーshe looked around to make sure no one was watching and whispered an unlocking spell.  Faint gold light engulfed the black smoke, and Frigga gingerly pushed the doors open, a frown creasing her brow.  

The large bed was unmade as was typical, its black sheets wrinkled and haphazard, one of Loki’s jackets rumpled in the middle, evidence of Sigyn holding the material tightly, most definitely every night.  Frigga could see, even from the door, that the leather was wet with tears.   

_My poor dearest girl_ ーshe clutched her chest at the sight.

Sigyn had reprimanded the servants whom she had caught cleaning Loki’s chambers a few days after the bridge had broken, protesting angrily and loudly enough that Frigga had heard her cries all the way from the throne room.  The girl had not wanted any of his things moved.  Nothing was to be _touched_ even.  She most certainly hadn’t allowed the bed linens to be washed.  Even after three months, the same sheets remained.  They would have been positively filthy if Asgardians or Vanir or _Jotuns_ ーFrigga hung her head at the thoughtーshed skin and hair and had body odor like humans.  

Walking to his desk, his open journals and books scattered across its surface, Frigga brushed her fingers across the pages, admiring his elegant handwriting and meticulous drawings.  The entire room smelled of Loki, his ghost haunting every wall, every corner, every surface.  The air itself _was_ Loki.  

 

Brow furrowing, Frigga watched the thin tendrils of smoke rising from the wicks of the candles next to the books.  Sigyn must have left not long ago.  Frigga peered more closely at the pages.  What had Sigyn been reading?  

“The Unknown Gateway to Midgard,” she read aloud in a hushed whisper. “What in the nineー”

 

Mouth snapping shut, nearly jumping out of her skin as a huge crash of thunder echoed in the dark chambersー _BOOM!_ ーFrigga grasped the back of the desk chair.  Glaring at the still bright clouds, the lightning having left them gleaming in its wake, she forgot the book entirely, her thoughts wandering to Thor.

She hurried to the balcony, ignoring the rain soaking her through.  At this hour Thor wouldn’t be on the bridge, the work day long since finished, and looking across to his balcony, she squinted.  No light shone from his chambers.  Typically it didn’t thunder like this when he was asleep, and he usually found solace with Sif, so the storm should have lightened up a bit.  Shaking her head, she shrugged it off as nothing more than Thor having a moment of overwhelming grief, and rubbing her shoulders, she left the balcony to search Loki’s washroom and dressing room.  

Still no sign of Sigyn.  Where had she run off to?  Had she gone to see Thor?  Were they having a confrontation?  That would explain the sudden thunder, wouldn’t it?  But Sigyn had hardly spoken to Thor for three months.  Why now, after all this time?  No, surely she’d gone somewhere else.  What places did she frequent?

Hurrying from the chambers, Frigga made her way to the library.  

“Sigyn?  Are you in here, dearest?” She didn’t bother keeping her voice quiet.

One could have heard a pin drop for the silence.  Walking down the aisles, checking between bookcase after bookcase, she frowned.  Even the rafters, including _Loki’s_ rafter where she’d often found him perched, were empty.  

Frustrated, Frigga ran a hand through her hair.  The library had been her best bet.  It was unlikely that Sigyn was snatching a late night snack from the kitchens considering she barely ate anything these days, and the raging storm would probably keep her inside the palace, so that ruled out the gardens and the training arena.   _Surely_ she wouldn’t have gone for a ride.  Sigyn _adored_ Sinir, and she often went riding despite the rain, but Frigga had never seen her ride in storms of this severity.  Perhaps Sigyn had gone to visit Loki’s beloved horse in the stables.

Squaring her shoulders, Frigga started in that direction, but she stopped as she passed the healing rooms.  Head cocked, she pursed her lips.  Sigyn had visited Heimdall every day for three months.  The gatekeeper had become a good friend of Sigyn’s since Loki had died.  Lower lip trembling, Frigga coughed to mask the cry that escaped her throat.  

_Oh not again._

Hand clamped over her mouth, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back the flow of tears.  She hitched forward, one hand at her stomach as her raven haired son’s beautiful face flashed across her vision.  She hated the memories.  She didn’t want to lose them, but dear gods she _hated_ them.  Maybe one day she would love them, but _this_ was not that day.  Her own words, spoken to her boy _ages_ ago, echoed in her mind….

_“The green matches your eyes.”_

_Smirk playing at the corners of his mouthー_ oh how she missed seeing that smirk every day! _ーLoki raised an eyebrow as Frigga fastened a green cape at his shoulders and smiled warmly._

_“What, no symbolic meaning for me?  It just ‘matches my eyes’?  Honestly, if it wasn’t from you, Mother, I’d be a bit insulted.”_

_“Green is the color of life, my dear god of mischief.  My little prankster.  And do not pretend that it isn’t your favorite color.”_

_“I never said it wasn’tー”_

_“As I said, green is for life, and I want your life to be so beautiful, Loki.  I want you to know love.  I want you to be happy…”_

So lost was she in the memory that Frigga didn’t hear the concerned healer who had appeared in the hall speaking to her. “Your majesty?”

Blinking rapidly, Frigga returned to the present and said, “I’ll be fine.  I’ll be fine.”  

Stomach twisting painfully, her words were strained as she waved the young woman off.  

_Oh no_ ーshe was going to be sick.  

Hurrying past the woman, Frigga ran straight to the communal lavatory within the healing wing and threw open the door, barely making it to the toilet.  Emptying what little food had been in her stomach, she flushed the remnants away and grabbed a towel to clean herself up.  She’d been physically sick more in the past three months than she had been in her entire life, and that said a lot considering she’d lost count of her age over the centuries.  It was all just too much, even for the queen of Asgard.  Grieving for Loki.  Odin still asleep.  Thor seemingly lost.  Heimdall blind.  The bifrost still broken.  Her life was falling apart.  Her earlier positivity was dwindling, as it _always_ did lately.  She scowled at her own weakness, willing herself to be strong.

_You will get through this.  You will learn to say goodbye, and you will move on.  Now focus.  Find Sigyn._

Exiting the lavatory, she went to Eir’s quarters and knocked softly on the door, a moment passing before it swung open.

“Your grace?” Eir stood on the other side, pushing her sleep tousled hair behind her ears.

Unconcerned with proprietyーthe usual ‘good evening’ and ‘forgive my intrusion’ felt like absolute nonsense at the momentーFrigga said, “Have you seen the Lady Sigyn?  Has she come to visit Heimdall today?  Or the Lady Jane, perhaps?”

Eir suppressed a yawn, and pulling her robe more tightly around her, she shook her head. “Last I saw Lady Sigyn, she was leaving the mortal’s room a month ago.  She did not check in today as far as I know.  I think Heimdall has missed her visits greatly.”

Frigga nodded once and turned on her heel quickly and spoke over her shoulder. “Thank you, Eir.  Sorry to have disturbed you at such a late hour.”

“Not at all, my queen.” Eir’s voice was nearly lost as Frigga hurried down the hall to Jane’s room.

It was positively rude to rouse anyone at this hour, but it was suspicious that the last person to have seen her was the tiny human.  After two months of checking the healing rooms every day, Sigyn saw Jane and then just abandoned her visits with Heimdall?  What in the nine had the mortal said to her?  

Frigga rapped on the door, and upon receiving no answer, she peeked inside. “Lady Jane?” She pushed the door open and walked in, eyes wide at the scene before her.  

It was empty, _entirely_ empty with not a scrap of evidence that Jane had ever been there.  No books, no clothes, no odd little Midgardian electronic gadgets, nothing.  

“What in the name of Odin?”  

Panic swelled in her core.  Where could the girl have gone?!  Had someone taken her?!  And if so, where to?!  The only place Jane would want to go was _home_ , and the bifrost was nowhere near complete.  Then what had happened to her?  Had a servant with a vengeful motive against Thor kidnapped his once lady love?  

The open page of Loki’s journal flashed across her vision thenー _The Unknown Gateway to Midgard._

Jaw set, she rushed back to the royal wing, straight to Loki’s chambers and opened the doors, none too gently, with a carefully aimed burst of magic.  Making a beeline for his desk, Frigga looked more closely at the papers.  Eyes wide, she gaped at the words that followed.

_“...it had been right under my nose all this time, quite literally, since Thor and I swim in the lake every day of every summer…”_

“By Hel Loki, what did you _do?!_ ” Frigga whispered heatedly to the empty room.  

Never had she considered the existence of portals to the other realms before the Jotuns had barreled through the forest three months ago.  Well, clearly her son had, and he’d kept quiet about them.  Had he ever used them?  

Rolling her eyes, she picked up the journal and flipped to the next page.  What an absurd question.   _Of course_ he’d used them.  Frigga would have used them, too.  How exciting must it have been to travel between the realms in secret?  Staring at the pages, her jaw dropped further.  He’d discovered portals to Vanaheim, Muspelheimー _dear gods, how awful!_ ーAlfheim….even the portal to Jotunheim.  Her stomach flipped at the thought of him using _that_ one. No doubt he had traveled to all the realms hidden under a cloaking spell.  Loki was the greatest sorcerer in all of Asgard, probably the nine, and such a spell would have been positively elementary for him.  Even Heimdall wouldn’t have known….

Not wishing to consider the devious things Loki might have done with that particular portal, she stopped the wheels in her head from spinning out of control and closed the book.  Had Sigyn known of the other portals all along?  Or had she simply read his journals?  Not that it mattered _how_ she knew.  The point was, Sigyn _knew_ , and was no doubt on her way to Silver Lake right now, Jane in tow.

How Sigyn would get Jane to the _bottom_ of the lake, Frigga had no clue, but one thing was for sure.  Sigyn was taking Jane back to Midgard.  Right now, actually, if the still smoking candles were any indication.

Quickly and quietly, Frigga ran to her chambers, grabbed a cloak and hurried to the royal boathouses.  Stepping into her boat, she shot a look to the guards who had hurried to aid her.

“Tell _no one_ that I’ve left,” she warned.

They merely nodded and stepped back, returning to their original posts as she powered up the boat and took off at full speed, the water shooting up behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Standing on his balcony clad in nothing but the thin navy sleeping pants tied about his hips despite the cold and rain, Thor ran a hand through his long damp blond locks and took a sip from the steaming mug of hot cider in his hand.  Ever since his time in Midgard, he’d taken to liking hot drinks.  The ‘coffee’ there had been absolutely delicious.  He’d never had anything like it before.  Sighing, he idly wished he’d had the forethought to bring back some of those coffee beans in Jane’s trailer.  Though how could he have known he would gain his powers back so suddenly thanks to ‘dying’ for a human and be swept up to Asgard?  

_Ah Jane_ ーhe rubbed a hand down his face.

Truly, he felt terrible for her, for the way he’d treated her.  After all, _he_ was the reason she was stuck here, so he should probably give her more attention.  It wasn’t _her_ fault that he’d broken the bridge.  It wasn’t her fault that Loki had died, that Gylfi’s _entire_ fucking regiment had died.  And yet it was.  In a twisted way, it _was_ Jane’s fault.  He didn’t want to talk to her, but he did….periodically.  He would inform her of the progress on the bifrost.  This very morning he had, and she’d been oddly optimistic about it.  Her smile had shone brighter than he’d seen it since their time on Earth.  

Confused by the memory of her strange disposition, Thor pinched the bridge of his nose.  Usually, she was so sullenーunderstandably, of courseーduring his visits.  Maybe she was going mad here, too.  Regardless, the bifrost was the only thing standing between Jane and her home, so she deserved to know that they were halfway done now.  

Gripping his mug harder, he fisted his other hand.  She should be _grateful_ for his tireless efforts, should she not?  The sooner that bridge was finished, the sooner she could go back.  He knew in his heart that he was justifying that which could not be justified, but what else could he do?  He’d fallen in love with the girl, and then he’d just as quickly fallen _out of love_ , if that was such a thing.  Perhaps it had been because he had returned to his true form, his immortal form.  Jane was important, yes, and in his own way, he cared for her, but he no longer loved her.  And he wanted her to go home.  The sooner, the better.  It would be one less thing for him to feel terrible about.  Plus, a repaired bifrost meant _everyone_ could go home.  All the foreigners who had been complaining incessantly to his poor mother could finally go home.

Swallowing the last of the drink, he looked across the wet city.  Try as he might, he couldn’t stop these fucking storms.  His people thought he was doing it of his own volition, didn’t they?  No doubt they assumed he was either vindictive or petulant.

_Ha!_  

If they only knew how thrilled he would be to see Loki again and hand Gungnir back to his little brother.  Then again, without Gungnir Thor would be weaponless.

Scowling, he looked over his shoulder and eyed the hammer lying on the floor next to the fireplace.  He’d not used it since the day he’d been crowned king.  Hopefully, everyone assumed he had simply forgone using it because he now had Gungnir.  His gaze then wandered from the hammer to his raven haired lover lying in his bed.  

_Dearest Sif_ ーhe smiled weakly at her sleeping form.

She knew the truth.  She’d seen him try desperately to lift Mjölnir.  Every day he tried.  

_Every.  Damn.  Day._  

Thor had woken up one day in that first month when they were arranging Loki’s funeral, and he’d been unable to lift it.  Talk about _demoralizing_ .  Any chance he’d had of improving his rule had flown out the window that day, hadn’t it.  Maybe a better man would have seen it as motivation, but then again, a better man would have done a great many things differently than he had.  He’d thought he _was_ that better man.  Apparently not.  He’d regained his powers only to have the hammer lost once more.  How could he be worthy again?  Did he have to _die_ again?  If so, would he be brought back from the dead?

Looking away from the wretched useless weapon, he turned back to the balcony and clutched the railing, his head hanging as he shivered.

“Loki…” he mumbled his brother’s name and sniffed.  

“Thor?” Sif’s voice startled him, and he dropped his cup, the ceramic shattering loudly on the stone beneath them as her arms encircled his bare torso from behind. “It’s freezing out here.  You should have put on a shirt if you’d planned to brood in the open air.”

Thor snorted and turned in her arms, his hands moving up to grasp the back of her head and twist in the soft black tendrils. “You always assume that I am brooding.”

Eyeing the lightning crackling across the clouds, Sif raised an eyebrow. “I _know_ you are brooding, Thor.  You do little else.”

Conceding, he nodded and leaned down, planting a kiss on her cheek.  Her dark blue eyes narrowed slightly, and grabbing his face, she pressed her lips firmly to his.

“You missed,” she whispered against his teeth when he smiled, laughing as he kissed down her neck, his beard tickling her skin.

“I did _not_ miss.  Make no mistake.  I know what I am doing, woman,” he chuckled and hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around his hips.  

_This_ was what he needed.  Everything else could wait.  The bridge, the throne, the hammer, the storms, his still sleeping father, his grief….it could _all_ wait.  All Thor needed in this moment was Sif.

Every ounce of blood in Sif’s body shot straight between her legs as his mouth slowly traveled from her throat to her collarbones.  She moaned, her head falling forward.

“Gods…” she whispered against his ear, her legs shaking as her hands pulled at the thick blond hair at the back of his neck.

One arm wrapped tightly around her waist, his other hand gripping her thigh, Thor carried her to the bed.  He wanted nothing more than to please her.  She’d been so patient, so kind, so forgiving of his faults.  

“Tell me what you want,” he said, setting her down on the soft sheets as he pulled her thin silver sleeping gown over her head.  

Her eyes rolled back, and she untied the drawstring of his pants. “You.  Just you.”

Aqua eyes crinkling, Thor smiled as she pushed the pants off him. “So….same as always?”

She laughed out loud. “Does my request bore you?”

Her laugh caught in her throat as he pushed into her, a satisfied moan replacing it.  Eyes closing at how tight she wasーHel, she was _always_ tight, and it would _always_ thrill himーhe dropped his face into the crook of her neck and groaned.

Driving his hips into her slowly, deeply, he managed to answer her, though it took great effort to speak at all. “You will,” he swallowed thickly, “ _never_ bore me, Sif.”

_I’m in love with you_ ーhis body molding into hers, he almost said it, but he caught himself.  

No more falling in love, or at least, no more _proclamations_ of love until he was absolutely certain that it was true.  He loved Sif for certain, but he loved many people.  Being _in love_ was another thing entirely.  Is this what Loki had had with Sigyn?  Oh gods, if it was even a shadow of what his brother had experienced with the Vanir, then Thor would never be able to apologize to Sigyn enough for ripping Loki from her.

Pushing aside the sad thoughts threatening to overwhelm himーthe thunder outside had reached terrifyingly new heightsーhe focused on the feel of Sif’s desperate kisses on his jaw.  Her lips found his, and thrusting his tongue into her mouth, he moved his hand from the back of her neck down her side and gripped her hip while the other hand continued to support his weight.

_Gods, I love you_ ーhis pace quickening just that much, Thor felt his end nearing.  

He couldn’t hold out much longer, and Sif knew it.  She didn’t care.  He could come without her if he wanted to.  Regardless, he felt _incredible_ to her.  He was so full, so _heavy_ inside her, and she would never get enough of him.  Ankles crossing, her hands gripping his well defined backside, she pulled him further into her.

“Stop that, Sif,” he rasped into her mouth.

“No,” she answered sharply, adoring the way his hand felt on her hip.  No, she would absolutely _not_ stop.  By Hel, she couldn’t get close enough to him.  How could she possibly _stop?!_

His jaw went slack thenー _dammit, Sif!_ ーas he shuddered against her, his eyes rolling back.  Thank the norns she was clenching around his cock, too.  He _hated_ when he finished first.   _Human_ men did that.  Not _gods_.

Her eyelids fluttered open as he collapsed on her, and she played with the soft blond locks that had fallen on her face.  She laughed underneath him, and he pushed up onto his elbows.

One eyebrow raised, Thor pursed his lips. “What’s so funny?”

Sif rolled her eyes. “I fear that I need to relieve myself.”

He laughedーthe sound was absolute _music_ to her earsーand pulled out and rolled off her.  Grinning sheepishly, she pushed up from the bed and dashed to his washroom.

She returned a moment later, a robe wrapped around her and found him once more on the balcony, his pants secured tightly across his hips again. “Thor?”  

He was squinting into the distance. “What _is_ this?  Tell me I’m not seeing things.” He pointed to the water.

Sif stared, gaping.  Flying across the water at top speed, long golden hair whipped behind a woman flying one of the royal boats, a regal blue cloak draped across her shoulders.  

Sif shook her head. “No, you are not seeing things.  Is thatー”

“Mother?” Thor whispered, cutting Sif off.

What the Hel was his mother doing taking a boat out at _this_ hour?  In a storm that he couldn’t end no less?  He returned to the room and pulled his tunic over his head and wrapped his cloak around his shoulders.  Strong and powerful as she was, Frigga still had no business riding the waves during the dark hours.  Or did she?  There was _always_ a purpose to his mother’s actions, and he wanted to know what that purpose was.   _Now_.  She knew something, and he needed to know it, too.

He opened the doors and turned back quickly to face Sif who was already on the bed and pulling the covers up.

“I shall return shortly,” he said.

He didn’t wait for a response and simply left in the direction of the boathouses.

 

* * *

 

 

[“Only the Winds (Instrumental)” Ólafur Arnalds (chapter song)](https://youtu.be/LNwBAPfshKI?list=PL8ts83qUe2BHNrVTKaChmgydESTDPGHFB)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so very sorry for the long (hello THREE months) overdue update. It was a struggle to finish this one. Next chapter, we'll be back with Loki and Sigyn again, along with good ol' Cap and Nick Fury. Oh, and Thor and Sif shippers (AKA me), rejoice! Thanks for reading, everyone. Hope to see you sooner than later.


	4. Purely Wild

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one, so settle in. Dialogue is the name of the game here, not action, sorry. I had to provide some character exposition for Fury and Cap, and the information that you learn, that the characters learn, in this chapter is imperative to set up the next one, thus the lengthier chapter. Fair warning: I’ve taken liberties (big liberties) with the rest of the plot, and it’s going to become more evident in this chapter. Again, if you don’t like canon divergence, turn back now.

_~Stark Tower Two, Los Angeles, Loki and Sigyn’s Second Day on Earth~_

 

“Loki and Sigyn,” Tony said, clearly less than thrilled with _something_ , “meet Nick Fury and Steve Rogers.”

Fury, one eyebrow raised, nodded to the two Asgardians who had just stepped off the elevator.  Extending his hand to Loki, he frowned.  “Sorry for Stark’s attitude.  Hope he hasn't been giving you too much lip.”

Loki eyed Tony curiously.  The man was burning holes in the back of Fury’s head.

Loki's eyes meeting Fury’s one eye, the other covered by a black eyepatch, he said cautiously, “He has been gracious enough to offer Sigyn and myself sanctuary in his tower.” Loki turned back to Tony whose brown eyes had narrowed suspiciously at Loki’s suddenly cordial behavior.  

“I don’t believe I ever said a proper _thank you_ either,” Loki said, offering his hand to Tony who accepted it with a look of….was that _contrition_?  Valhalla, it _was._   Stark was turning out to be a rather complicated fellow.  Or just moody.  Running a hand through his hair, Loki glared at the floor.  He understood _moody_ better than anyone.  

Steve cleared his throat then, and Sigyn looked him up and down quickly.  Sandy blond hair, kind eyes, clearly athletic.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rogers,” she said extending her hand to him, pleased when he grasped it firmly and let go.  She’d decided over the last two days that she preferred this greeting far more than having her knuckles kissed.

Steve smiled. “Just call me Steve.  I’ll be honest,” he looked between Sigyn and Loki, “when Fury told me that a couple aliens from another planet had come through the tesseract, I figured that you’d look a bit more, well, _alien_.”

“Well,” Loki said, successfully controlling the instinctive roll of his eyes, “small and green with big black eyes isn’t accurate.”

“For the sake of correct information,” Jane interjected, “Asgard isn’t a planet.”

“Obviously, _that_ is the most important matter on the table,” Tony said, wide eyed, nodding dramatically.

Erik shrugged. “She’s right.  For one thing, a planet orbits a star, and is typically spheroid in shape, and from what Thor told usー”

“Thor hardly even knows the term _spheroid_ ,” Loki interrupted, his mood darkening instantly. “Sorry, Dr. Selvig, but you’ll discover, if you ever encounter him again, that an acute lack of accurate knowledge swirls around in that man’s head.  He didn’t care much for the academy during our youth.”

From behind Tony, Pepper sighed, eyes trained on Jane. “Let’s just agree that Asgard is a different _realm_.  Arguing over what constitutes a planet is hardly a productive use of everyone’s time.”

“Yes, let’s,” Sigyn agreed.  Dear gods, _anything_ to take Loki’s mind off Thor.  She could see the storm brewing behind his eyes, the faintest of green light appearing at the tips of his fingers as he took steadying breaths.  

“As you probably know by now,” Fury looked at Loki, “I’m the director of SHIELD.  Coulson called me as soon as you came through the tesseract, so why don’t we start with how the hell you pulled that off.”

Loki opened his mouth to answer, but Tony cut him off. “You know, I should have known it all along.  I always thought _something_ was off.  There was this little voice up here,” he tapped his temple twice, “telling me not to trust SHIELD.  Not to trust _you_.” He pointed at Fury.

Crossing his arms, Fury glared at Tony. “That may be, but you agreed to work for us nonetheless.  You wanna know what I think?”

“I really don’t,” Tony said, looking the other man in his one good eye.   

Fury shrugged. “I think you _didn’t_ know all along and are just pissed off that you weren’t sharp enough to figure it out.”

“Damn right I’m _pissed_ ,” Tony said, laughing humorlessly. “And why shouldn’t I be?  I came on for one purpose only; research the tesseract because that thing just might be the sustainable energy this planet needs.  To think my work has been going toー”

“Stark,” Fury took a step in Tony’s direction, “ _you_ signed a contract saying you understood that SHIELD retained the right to use said research however they saw fit.”

“Yeah I did,” Tony huffed, running a hand through his hair, eyes shut tightly, deep lines creasing his brow, “but I had no idea my work would be in the hands of a bunch of glorified _Nazis_.”

Loki pursed his lips, and turned to Sigynー _Nazis.  The Third Reich.  They followed that Austrian-born German politician.  What was his name?_ ーHe snapped his fingers, trying to rememberー _Ah, yes._   _Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945._

Sigyn frowned, glaring at Furyー _That’s not good._

 _Not good at all_ ーLoki agreed, nodding as he draped his arm over her shoulder.

Fury clasped his hands behind his back to keep from throwing them up in frustration. “You think _I_ had any idea of that?  Newsflash, Stark, I _just_ found out.”

Toe to toe with Fury, Tony glared. “It boggles my mind that the _director_ of SHIELD had absolutely no ideaー”

“Guys, guys, come on,” Steve stepped between them, his jaw set, “remember we are on the same team here.   _Hydra_ is the enemy.”

Loki quirked an eyebrow, lips pursed. “And what is Hydra?”

“It’s a fucking fascist cult,” Tony answered, face red with anger as he turned away from Fury.

Fury snorted. “That’s one way of putting it.”

Closing his eyes, Loki took a deep breath and shook his head, utterly frustrated.  Could they not just give him a straight answer?   

Steve frowned and looked at Loki, the once warmth in his eyes replaced with detached seriousness. “The new Hydra is a terrorist-criminal-paramilitary organization that has secretly been hiding within SHIELD for 70 years.”

“Terrorist-criminal-paramilitary?” Tony made quotation marks with his fingers.  He scoffed and looked at Loki. “I.e. a _fucking fascist cult_.”

Keeping his eyes on Loki, Steve ignored Tony and continued. “Hydra has existed for millennia.   Originally they worshipped a supposed Inhuman who was banished from Earth because the other Inhumans were afraid of its power.  Simply put, Hydra has been trying to get this being back to Earth and establish a planetary takeover.  It’s absurd, but it is what it is.”

Loki, disbelief clouding his features, looked from face to face before returning his attention to Steve. “An _Inhuman_?”  What did the mortals know of Inhumans?

Fury shook his head and waved the question off. “All of this is neither here nor there.  Once again, we are here to talk about the tesseract, and Loki,” he gave him a pointed look, “you need to give us everything you’ve got.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and Loki would have done that hours ago if you two hadn’t shown up three hours earlier than the agreed upon time.  You think I had planned on twiddling my thumbs while Loki just hung out in his condo this morning?”

“Stark,” the warning tone was evident in Fury’s voice, “if you’d wanted to talk to Loki so badly, maybe you shouldn’t have drawn out your temper tantrum for those three hours.”

Steve sighed. “And yet here you are,” he looked from Fury to Tony, “still arguing.  The guy is standing right here,” he gestured to Loki, “so let’s talk to him.”

All eyes were on Loki then, and for once, he didn’t care for the attention.  Staring at the floor, he exhaled through his mouth.

Tony eyed him and frowned, shaking his head. “You don’t wanna talk.” He nodded to Sigyn when Loki met his gaze. “Not with your girl right here.”

One dark eyebrow raised, Sigyn said, “What are you talking about?”

Still focusing on Loki, Tony shrugged. “I just doubt that Loki can be completely honest about everything with a non objective person, aka his _lover_ , listening.”

Jaw set, Sigyn turned to Pepper, annoyance written all over her face. “So _that_ was the purpose of shopping this morning!  Your _boyfriend_ wanted to speak with Loki alone!” Looking down at her new black t-shirt, she tugged on it and looked back up at the other woman.

“Listen,” Pepper said calmly, “I know it wasn’t exactly your idea of a fun morning.  Believe me, I don’t care to traipse around shopping malls either.  I have to buy enough clothes for Tony without having to bother with my own.”

Tony mock scoffed. “Hey, you love it.”

“Just like I love taking out your trash.  Anyhow,” Pepper rolled her eyes at his smirk and looked back at Sigyn, “Tony and I talked it over yesterday when you and Loki were...um,” she cleared her throat, “ _recuperating_.  I suggested that Loki might be hesitant to give the _whole_ truth of what he had experienced, how painful it had been, with you present.”

Sigyn put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans to keep from putting them on her hips and scoffing like a child who wasn’t getting her way. “Loki knows he doesn’t need to protect me.”

“Don’t misunderstand me, Sigyn,” Pepper said, holding up a hand. “I’m not saying you _need_ protection.  Not at all.  I was in Catalina, remember?  I saw what you did to Tony’s gate.  It’s just that, well, often times men are instinctively protective of women.  I’m not saying there aren’t exceptionsー”

“I told you,” Sigyn snapped, cutting her off, annoyance evident in her tone, “he knows he doesn't need to protect me.  Loki entrusted me with the task of protecting his parents, the very king and queen of Asgard, when Asgard was under attack.  He physically _left_ me in order to take charge of the army.  He treated me as he would have any other soldier.”

Loki stared over Sigyn’s head, her voice becoming a mere echo as the penthouse was lost to him.  

_Surrounded by the snow covered fields of Asgard, he was exhausted, a gaping wound in between his left ribs oozing blood even through the heavy leather and metal of his armor._

_“I will not abandon this fight.” His words were strained, barely a whisper.  The pain wasn’t enough to knock him off his horse….yet._

_“Your lung has been pierced, Loki.” It was Thor’s voice. “I am sure of it.  I must get you to Eir!”_

_Frost giants swarmed all around them._

_Panicked, Loki whispered, “Sigyn.”_

_He thought he heard Thor scream, “What?  Loki?!”_

_Loki reared back on Sinir and took off for the palace shouting behind his shoulder, “Finish them!!”_

“Loki?” Sigyn waved a hand in front of his face. “Loki?”

Grabbing his hands, she continued to say his name.  What was he seeing?  She focused on the bond and could have sobbed for the images that flashed through her mind.  No, no, no.  Not that day.  Dear gods, not _that_ day.  She never should have mentioned it.  What had she been thinking?

“What’s wrong with him?” Jane asked, concern spreading across her delicate features.

“Can Asgardians have PTSD?” Fury said, taking a step toward Loki. “Because this sure as hell looks like PTSD.”

“Stop,” Sigyn said, looking at him sharply, holding up a hand, “I’ll handle this.”

 _Come on, love_ ーshe felt absolutely sick, his emotions seeping through the bond and twisting her stomach painfullyー _come back to me.  I’m here._ You’re _here._

Loki continued his stare into nothingness, reliving the worst day of his life, entirely unaware of Sigyn shaking him.

 _Where was she?  He had just arrived in Odin’s chambers.  His mother was at his ankles trying to pull up.  His father was still asleep on his bed, unscathed.  And Laufey,_ fucking _Laufey, was burning right in front of him.  Black mist drenched the flames then, and he saw her._ Gods, no!  No, Sig! _She was gasping for breath, trying to smile, absolutely drenched in blood, and mouthing ‘Loki’ as though his very name was her salvation.  He couldn’t get to her fast enough.  She was whispering something about the door covered with ice.  He took the end of his cape and pressed it to the probably fatal wound that was absolutely_ gushing _blood from her stomach as he aimed Gungnir at the door, blasting the ice apart.  Oh gods, she was dying in his arms.  He was going to lose her.  Get her to Eir, you fool!_

_His mother was still clinging to him, and he kissed her cheek before practically barking, “Stay with Father.”_

“How long are we just gonna watch him have an episode?” Grabbing Sigyn’s elbow, Tony gestured to Loki. “My god, just look at the guy!  This has gotta be torture for him!”

She shrugged Tony’s hand off her arm and finally shouted, _“LOKI!”_

Her powerful slap across his left cheek broke through the tortuous haze of seeing Sigyn unconscious on a healing bed, and Loki reeled back, blinking rapidly.

“I’m….s-sorry,” Loki stuttered running a hand down his face.  

It wasn’t the first time he’d been shaken by the memory of Sigyn dying in his arms, and it wouldn’t be the last.  It had been his _worst_ nightmare in the desert, the reality of it fueling the horror more than any imagined monster could have.  Gazing down at her, tears in her eyes, he pulled her to him, his hand tangling in her hair as she wrapped her arms around his neck whispering something like “I’m here” into his throat.  Yes, she _was_ here.  Tangible.  In his arms.  And yet he was _still_ haunted by that damn memory.  He hated it.   _Hated_ it.

“It’s okay, man,” Tony said, hesitantly reaching out and patting his shoulder.

Loki cringed.  He looked absolutely pathetic right now, didn’t he?  Dear gods, how far the mighty had fallen.  Then again, he’d never exactly been ‘the Mighty Loki’.  No, that title had been bestowed upon Thor.  Pulling back from Sigyn, he ran a hand through his hair.

“I would do _anything_ to keep you safe, Sig,” he said giving her a pointed look. “Do you not remember what I once told you in the cave in Vanaheim?  I’d sooner let Asgard burn than I would let anyone or anything hurt you.  And by Hel, I meant it.” Shaking his head, he frowned and looked at his hands, fiddling with a hangnail. “I abandoned the fight for _you_.  I abandoned all those men for _you_.  I _left_ the battlefield.  I put _Thor_ in charge for Hel’s sake.  Sig, all that mattered was _you._ ” When he looked back up at her, his eyes shone with tears.

Sigyn’s face fell.  She’d clean forgotten his once words in the cave.  Hadn’t those words been uttered only to boost her confidence enough to get back through the Vanaheim portal?  He really _would_ let Asgard burn for her?  Would she let it burn for him, too?  Staring into his eyes, she had her answer.  By the Norns, she _would_.  The power they had over each other was positively _dangerous_.  

“Ms. Potts is right,” Loki said, his voice startling her out of her thoughts. “There are things that happened to me, Sig.  Things I don’t want you to _ever_ know.”

Unhappy with the ‘I told you so’ look Pepper was giving her, Sigyn sighed. “Well, it doesn’t matter either way, Loki,” she said, gripping his forearm. “The bond lets me hear your thoughts and words across an entire realm for Hel’s sake, so a shopping excursion in the _same_ _building_ wouldn’t keep me from knowing the truth.  You can’t hide from me.”

Steve quirked an eyebrow. “What sort of _bond_ let’s you read his thoughts?”

“A blood bond,” Loki answered, and at Steve’s still perplexed expression, he clarified, “It’s blood magic.  We performed a ritual that allows us to feel the other’s emotions and speak to each other with thoughts alone.”

Frowning, Fury looked around the room, surprised that no one else’s jaw had dropped. “Sorry to be the annoying skeptic of the group, but how the hell am I supposed to believe this shit?”

Tony rubbed the perfectly groomed goatee on his chin, brows nearly touching his hairline. “Can’t you at least….I don’t know….turn it off?  I mean, do you _always_ hear what’s going on in her head?  That sounds _awful_.”

Loki shook his head. “No, we have to actively use it.  We have to _tap_ _into_ _it_ , if you will.  The bond is always there, always available to me, but if I don’t want to hear what she’s thinking or feeling, I just don’t listen.  It goes quiet.  In truth, I’ve been able to read _all_ minds since I was a new sorcerer, so I’ve had a great deal of practice in mastering the skill.  I only listen when I want to.  Gods, if I had no way to _not_ listen I should go mad.”

Eyes narrowed, Jane pointed a finger at him. “I knew you could read minds!  I _knew_ it!”  How horribly embarrassing, considering some of the thoughts that had gone through her mind upon first seeing Loki, or worse, the times that she’d relived some of her more intimate moments with Thor.   _Surely_ , he would have shut that out as soon as he heard it.

Lips pursed, not especially thrilled with the newfound knowledge of Loki’s telepathic abilities, Steve jumped in, “Okay, well, I know this might not have crossed your mind, Tony, because it’s kind of old-fashioned and boring, but what if you had just _asked_ Loki to speak with you alone instead of the supposedly covert shopping trip to distract Sigyn?  And Loki could have asked her to just not listen, right?”

Tony smirked. “Yeah, that _is_ boring.  Not really my style, Cap.  But it wouldn’t have worked because,” he smirked and turned to Sigyn, “you would have listened anyway, wouldn’t you?” She looked away as he continued, his index finger poking her shoulder. “And Loki would have known that you would be listening, so he would have guarded his words or left out possibly important information, leaving us in the dark.”

Tilting his head sideways, Loki mused aloud. “Except she wouldn’t have been able to hear me from downstairs.”

Tired of standing around talking about some weird blood bond or whatever the hell it was, Fury took a seat on one of the many leather chairs situated throughout the living area.  Apparently this was gonna take a while.  He set his elbows on his knees, hands under his chin.

“I don’t get it,” he said, shaking his head, his eye on Loki. “Sigyn said she could hear you from across a ‘realm’, so why not from fifty floors down?  Sure you have to _actively_ use it, but does that mean you can also….I don’t know…. _block_ each other?  ‘Cause if that’s the case, then this is all a moot point, and we might as well stop talking about the finer points of their bond and ask Sigyn to kindly let us have a moment alone with you.”

The fire under her skin burned hotter, and taking a calming breath, Sigyn chose her words carefully. “Perhaps I’m misinterpreting you, Director, butー”

“I actually _can_ block her from my thoughts,” Loki said, his hands moving up to her shoulders and rubbing gently, cutting off whatever sharp words she had planned on slinging at Fury. “That is, I can _somewhat_ block her.  Blocking isn’t part of the blood magic, though.  I have to utilize a different set of skills, and it exhausts me to do so.  It is, in a way, a magical form of deception, of _lying_ , and Thor,” he cringed at the name but moved on without missing a beat, “always did say I was talented liar.”

Turning on him, Sigyn pushed his hands away. “ _What_?  Well then teach _me_ how to block _you_ , God of _Lies_.  I’d like to keep some of my thoughts to myself as well.”

“God of _Mischief_ ,” Loki corrected, pushing a strand of hair that had come loose from her braid behind her ear. “I haven’t lied to you since I said you were no match for me.  You _know_ that,” he whispered, pulling her close.  

“That depends entirely on one’s definition of a _lie_ ,” she snapped, though her tone lacked any real menace.  She was clearly a bit miffed still, but she wrapped one arm around his waist loosely, and that was good enough for him.

Satisfied that she had calmed down enough to _not_ burn a hole in his sweater, Loki addressed the others. “But that isn’t why she couldn’t hear me from downstairs.  Tell me, Stark,” he trained his eyes on Tony who had crossed the room to pour a mid-afternoon drink for himself, “from what material is this tower constructed?”

Tony took a sip, the ice tinkling in his glass. “Steel,” he said, shrugging. “Like every other high rise in existence.  Why?”

Eyes narrowing, Loki inclined his head.  “I simply wish to know how it is possible that our bond works from across an entire realm but not through the floors of _your_ building.”

Tony frowned, genuinely confused. “What?”

Loki inclined his head. “ _Something_ is blocking the magic, and I’m fairly certain it isn’t _steel_.  The material is shielding our thoughts from each other.  I tried to use the bond to find Sigyn this morning, but it wouldn’t work.  Jarvis had to tell me where she was.  I tried to hear her, feel her at _all_ , while purchasing new clothes.  Again, _nothing_.”

Everyone turned to face Tony, the looks on their faces ranging from bemused to suspicious.  He had no idea what Loki was talking about.  Something in his building was blocking their bond?  Running a finger around the rim of his glass, he shut his eyes.  This place was made of solid steel!  How could steel shield their thoughts from each other?

Wait.

Shield their thoughts.

 _Shield_.

One eyebrow quirked, Tony looked at Steve.  

After a moment of feeling unnerved under Tony’s intense gaze, Steve held up his hands in question. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Looking as though a light bulb had just turned on over his head, Tony said, “Your shield.”

Steve frowned. “Come again?”

Tony walked around the bar, his drink forgotten, and pointed at Steve. “Your shield is nearly indestructible.  It _blocks_ you from just about any harm, right?  Hell, I’ve seen _fire_ bounce right off it.  I know you’ve fallen off a high rise and landed on it and just stood up and walked away.  No broken bones.  No bruises.  No cuts.”

Leaning back in his chair, Fury groaned. “Get to the point, Stark.”

Brow furrowed, Tony walked to Loki. “Can you hear each other as long as you’re on the _same_ floor?  Even in different rooms?”

Loki and Sigyn nodded silently.

Tony laughed dryly, a hand over his eyes.  He could have cried right then.  He was so busted. “Fuck.”

He held up a hand just as Steve opened his mouth.  “I swear if you say ‘language’ at me, I will punch you right in your pretty face.”

Brows up, Steve shrugged. “I still don’t see what my shield has to do with any of this.”

Rubbing his hands down his face, Tony groaned. “Vibranium.  It must have mystical properties that shield their bond, too.”

Fury was on his feet in an instant. “Stark, are you saying you’ve been concealing _vibranium_ in between the floors of your tower?”

Backing away from the much taller man hovering over him, Tony nodded.

Hands fisted at his sides, Fury scoffed. “That’s a helluva lot of an extremely _rare_ metal, Stark.  Also, extremely _valuable_ to smugglers, namely, Ulysses Klaue.  What’s that thief’s little collection called again?”

“ _Big_ collection you mean,” Tony corrected, one hand in his pocket as he returned to his drink, “and it _was_ called the ‘salvage yard’.  Brilliant name.  Very descriptive.”

Crossing his arms, Fury glared. “Uh huh, and just how did you manage to get to the salvage yard undetected?  You _know_ Wakanda is a hotspot for SHIELD.  They’ve got eyes _everywhere_.” He grabbed an empty glass from the counter. “Fill it up.  I’m considering this entire day off duty, and I need it.”

Jane interrupted. “Sorry, what’s Wakanda, again?”

Pepper cleared her throat. “It’s a central African country, the only known location to house vibranium so far.”

Jane nodded. “Right.”

Ignoring Fury’s still empty glass, Tony took a sip from his own. “Wakanda is a hotspot for _Hydra_ you mean.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Neither here nor there.  Answer the question, Stark.”

Setting the glass down with more force than necessary, Tony eyed him. “I’m sorry, I don’t recall signing anything that said I take orders from _you_.”

“For the _love_ , Stark,” Steve ran a hand down his face, beyond exasperated.

Finally pouring whiskey into the glass Fury was holding up expectantly, Tony huffed. “ _Fine_.  It’s fairly self-explanatory though.  People love money, and when you have enough of it, you can get them to do just about anything.” He shrugged. “Make friends with the right people.  Hire the right people.  Blah blah blah.  Look, the details of _how_ I got my hands on Klaue’s _stolen_ stockpile don’t matter.  I know this is boring and old-fashioned without any covert flair, but maybe, just _maybe_ I did the honest thing and simply asked Prince T’challa if I could raid the mines.  Let’s not forget that my dad had good relations with Wakanda back in the day.” He looked at Steve. “You remember, right?”

“Am I supposed to be affected by the _old_ jokes still?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “Come up with something new, Stark.  You're losing your touch.”

Jane rubbed her temples, annoyed that she couldn’t seem to keep up. “Prince T’challa?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Good _god_ , Pipsqueak, aren’t you the one who always spouts off that ‘knowledge is power’, and yet here you are knowing _nothing_ about geography or Wakandan royalty.”

“You don’t have to be an ass about it,” Jane snapped. “Astrophysics is my specialty, not _Wakandan_ _royalty_.”

Sparing her a sympathetic glance, Steve interjected, “T’challa is the prince of the kingdom of Wakanda, to be exact, and in case you were wondering,” he looked at Loki and Sigyn, “my shield is made of vibranium.  It has properties that absorb the most intense vibrations on a molecular level which protect me from just about anything, and now,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair, “apparently it has _magical_ properties as well.” He crossed the room to the bar, eyeing Tony like a dad would his misbehaving son.

Pulling Sigyn with him, Loki walked to the other men and snatched the bottle of Knob Creek right out of Tony’s hand.  Hard liquor sounded superb at the moment.

“Originally, I came up here to talk about the tesseract in order to help _you_ .” The bottle still in his hand, Loki released his index finger and pointed to each of them.  Enjoying how they shrinked just _that_ much under his stare, he set the bottle down and placed his hands flat on the bar.

“In order to be as helpful as possible, I want to make sure I’ve got it straight.  Stark and Dr. Selvig were hired by SHIELD to research the energetic capabilities of the tesseract.  Stark was hoping to make a clean energy source with it, and he was willing to work for SHIELD even if it meant handing over his research to an organization that might choose to use said research for less than benevolent purposes.  This weighed heavily on Stark, but he justified the research for the sake of sustainable energy.  That same weight and the untimely destruction of his house in Catalina made him a rather unpleasant and unwelcoming host to myself and Sigyn, thank you very much,” Loki held up a finger when Tony glared at  him, “but all is forgiven.  This morning, Director Fury and Rogers arrived ahead of schedule, which was unfortunate for Stark since it meant he didn’t get _alone_ _time_ with me,” he smirked as everyone erupted in laughter. “Then Fury informs Stark that SHIELD has been infiltrated by a ‘fucking fascist cult’, as Stark so delicately put it, called Hydra which is bent on world domination by a powerful Inhuman.  Stark is a _bit_ upset to know that his research on the tesseract is now in the hands of this evil Hydra organization.”

Tony slow clapped, “Bravo, Loki.”

“There’s more you should know,” Steve offered. “The tesseract was stolen from Tonsberg by Johann Schmidt, the commander of the Nazi special weapons division, aka Hydra, in 1942, and it became their secret weapon.  Eventually it ended up at the bottom of the ocean, as did I.  Howard Stark discovered it later on while looking for me, and that’s how we ended up here.  Big mistake fishing it out of the water.”

Tony looked into the bottom of his glass. “Yeah well, hindsight is twenty twenty.”

Loki rubbed his eyes, not only because his body was tired still but because they were genuinely starting to hurt again.  It was a minor pain, but hopefully this wasn’t going to turn into that piercing _stabbing_ pain like when he came through the tesseract.  Blinking rapidly, he took a deep breath and sent a pulse of pain numbing magic into his temple, the faint green glow casting shadows across his face.  Ah, relief was sweet.

“Damn,” Fury’s one eye shot wide open as Loki exhaled deeply through his mouth. “What the hell did you just do to your head?” He leaned in closer to Loki, eye squinting.

Loki waved a hand. “I was merely ending a headache.”

“Not sure if I’m impressed or genuinely creeped out by that,” Fury said, leaning away.

Head sideways, Loki smirked. “ _Creeped_ _out?_  Why?  Are you wondering if I could _give_ a headache, or _worse_ , to someone else, Director?” He didn’t wait for a response. “The answer is yes.   _Much_ worse.”  He wiggled his fingers, his smirk turning to a dazzling smile as green light seeped from the tips and slithered across the bar toward the other man.  Fury flinched when it made contact, but quickly relaxed, a faint smile tugging at his lips.  

Sigyn smacked his arm. “Loki, what did you _do_ to him?”

“Fear not, Sig,” Loki chuckled, taking a sip from the bottle. “It’s just a slight high, nothing more.  He’s probably feeling more relaxed than he has in ages.”

Grey green eyes narrowing, Sigyn smacked him harder. “Well _end_ it.”

Fury’s smile faltered, the effects of Loki’s magic dissipating. “Interesting.”

“Oh my god,” Tony smiled wide, holding his arm out to Loki, “ _please_ do me.”

Loki smirked, winking at Sigyn. “I’m afraid you’re not my type.”  

Holding up his glass, Tony wiggled his eyebrows. “Hey man, I'm _everybody’s_ type.” Watching cool magic like that was improving his mood big time.

A chorus of catcalls and snickers and air kisses echoed in the room as Pepper, Jane, Erik and Coulson joined them at the bar.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Come on, guys.  Back to business.”

Grabbing a corkscrew from beneath the bar, Tony released the small knife on the side. “Why so serious?  Here,” he reached for Steve’s cheek, “let’s put a smile on that face.”

Steve leaned just out of his reach, lips pursed.  After a beat he said, “ _The Dark Knight._ ”

Nodding, Tony set the corkscrew down, eyebrows up expectantly. “Correct.  And?”

“I actually liked that one,” Steve said, a small grin brightening his features.

“ _Everyone_ liked that one,” Pepper said, grabbing four glasses, one for her, and set the others in front of Jane, Erik, and Coulson.

“Guess I’m taking drink orders now,” Tony mused aloud, his forehead creasing. “The usual Pep?”

“Yep,” she said, situating herself on one of the leather stools.

Pushing the glass away, Coulson shook his head. “No thanks.”

“I already said we’re off duty,” Fury said, holding up his glass, “so feel free to indulge, Coulson.   _Reasonably_ indulge, that is.”

Sigyn cleared her throat. “I want to know more about this vibranium material.”

“Speaking of which,” Fury said, eyeing Tony, “I still don’t know _why_ you have your own stockpile of it, Stark.”

“Listen,” Tony shrugged, “let’s just say I struck a deal with T’challa.  I keep it safe from smugglers like Klaue, and just look how the good people of Wakanda have thrived thanks to the big chunk of cash that I drop landed in their prince’s hands.  Seriously, think about it; who would think to look for _vibranium_ in the space between steel planks between the floors of Stark Tower Two?  It’s a _great_ hiding place.  But let’s get back to the tesseract because I want to know how we can get that thing as far the hell away from Earth as possible before Hydra comes for it.”

Pepper looked sideways at him. “Considering another Asgardian just came through the tesseract last night with twenty SHIELD agents there to witness it, I’m assuming it won’t take long for them to come for it.”

“I can assure you,” Coulson cut in, holding up a hand, “Director Fury and Captain Rogers were the only ones to be notified.  The agents who witnessed it are under _strict_ protocol to answer to _me_ , and I answer to Fury.  You think any of them could just make a phone call to the higher ups at SHIELD without me knowing about it?  Come on, Ms. Potts, I’m level 8.”

Sighing, Pepper shook her head. “I’m not questioning your level of authority, Phil, only that if Hydra has infiltrated SHIELD, then I trust your agents about as far as I can throw them.  Doesn’t hurt to look at this from all possible angles.”

Holding his hands up, palms facing her, Coulson nodded. “I understand, but I know my agents, and even if I didn’t, I’d still know if they’d been communicating with the fat cats at SHIELD, and they _haven’t_.  The council sent their top guy, Fury, to investigate the blast along with his choice of agents.  SHIELD’s cover is that the blast was due to a gas leak.  They know if they make a fuss over some billionaire’s house exploding in Catalina people are gonna start to talk.  It’s in their best interest to let Fury handle it covertly.”

Swirling his drink, mouth set in a frown, Erik said, “But how does the council know they can trust Fury?”

Fury, head tilted down, gave him a pointed look from under his brow. “First of all, I’m not sure the _council_ has actually been infiltrated, and no one knows that I know about Hydra except for these guys.” He pointed to Steve, Tony, and Coulson.

Rolling her eyes, Sigyn crossed her arms. “So we’ve established that you can trust all of _three_ people in this organization.  Wonderful.”

Planting a kiss on her temple, Loki shrugged. “Seeing as how our new friends are desperate to get rid of the tesseract, they’ve made my job exceptionally less difficult.”

Tony grinned and clapped his hands together once. “ _Now_ we’re getting somewhere!  The real meat of the discussion.  So what _job_ would that be, Loki?”

Loki leaned an arm on the bar. “To steal the tesseract whether you like it or not, take it to Asgard, and stick it in Odin’s vault.”

Choking into his glass, Tony put it down, cringing.  “Please tell me ‘Odin’s vault’ isn’t a euphemism for something else.”

Loki and Sigyn exchanged quick wide-eyed glances before they burst out laughing.  

Sigyn doubled over, gripping her stomach. “Loki,” she tried to catch her breath, “c-can you imagine the Allfather’s f-face?”

Wiping a tear from his eye, Loki sniffed. “That would be truly horrific though hilarious.”

“No, Stark,” composing himself, he straightened the hem of his sweater, shaking his head, “it’s the _weapons_ vault.  A great many treasures are stored there for the safest keeping in all the realms, guarded by the Destroyer and the Einherjar armed with enchanted blades and centuries of military training.”

“So back to the being who sent you here,” Steve said, frowning, “I’m just gonna call him ‘Big Bad’, can he _sense_ where the tesseract is?”

Running a hand through his hairーhe _hated_ that Sigyn was hearing _anything_ about his torturerーLoki sighed, jaw jutting forward. “Yes.  Well, only because it was _awakened_ , if you will.  When it was stagnant at the bottom of one of your oceans, he did not know where it was, but then you people started playing with fire and the game changed.”

“So,” Tony leaned his elbows on the counter, “does Big Bad sense that the tesseract is here in my tower?”

Loki quirked an eyebrow. “That raises the question: _is_ it in this tower?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

“ _Not_ obvious,” Loki snapped, glaring. “How should _I_ know if it had been moved?  Yes, he surely senses it is here rather than in Catalina, and I am to report to him every other day as to your defenses and what not.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I am meant to be a scout for him, for all intents and purposes.  I hope it is clear to you that I have chosen a different path.”

Sigyn grabbed his chin, jerking his face toward her, grey green eyes burning holes into his slightly less blue ones. “Wait, you’re still in communication with him?”

One eyebrow raised, Loki tugged on her wrist gently. “Of course.  I have to be.”

He tugged harderー _Sig, let go.  That actually hurts._

Eyes narrowing, she released her grip, and Loki rubbed his jaw. “Think of it as highly skilled telepathy.”

Sigyn straightened her shoulders, unhappy with that answer, but kept her mouth shut.  She didn’t especially want to whine in front of these people, and anything further she had to say would be just thatー _whining._

Erik rubbed his chin. “I’m curious; are you saying that if he doesn’t know the _exact_ location of the tesseract, then he can’t use it?”

Almost positive of the answer, Loki nodded. “Correct.”

Though The Other had never told him any of the specifics, Loki had been given two months to prepare for this little trip while he’d been on that desert rock, and in that time he had read just about everything in existence about the tesseract.  And why wouldn’t he?  He’d needed to know everything possible if he wanted to wield it himself.  In truth, he probably _was_ a powerful enough being to use it, especially after the rigorous training in the desert, but he didn’t especially want to put his eyes through that horror again.

“It’s just like wielding magic,” he continued, shrugging. “For example, I am able to move things at will with just a thought.” He held out his hand, green light shining around it, and a chair fell over. “The only way I was able to knock that chair over was because I knew its location first.  I focused on it and wanted it to move, so it did.  Magic requires focus on the item or person you wish to manipulate.  I can’t move anything on the fifty-fourth floor for instance because I haven’t been on that floor.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know what to move.”

Head titled, Steve frowned. “But you just said the vibranium blocks magic, so even if you _had_ seen something on that floor and wanted to move it, how would you be able to?” He paused, lips pursing. “Or does it only block the blood magic?”

Loki was genuinely stunned to silence for a moment.  He hadn’t thought of that.   _Had_ he tried to do any other magic that went through the floors?  Well, he had zapped the woman installing new cameras in the ceiling above him, but she was in a vent, and only because he could hear her had he been able to do anything at all.  Perhaps the vibranium had been above the vent?  Or maybe it really did _only_ block the bond.

“Well, let’s try an experiment then,” Loki said rubbing his hands together. “I’ve seen the forty-second floor.  I’ll try to move something there.  Jarvis, tell me if it works.”

“Yes, sir,” Jarvis responded.  A moment passed before he added, “sheets are floating above the bed, and the headboard is broken, sir.”

Tony scowled at Loki. “Was _breaking_ something necessary in this experiment?”

Chewing on his lower lip, Steve put a hand on his hip. “Huh.  It worked.”

Sigyn held up a hand. “But wait, you’re using mind magic obviously, but the blood bond….I thought it was mind magic too?  Why would one work but not the other?  Or no, wait.   _Is_ the blood bond mind magic?”

Loki stared at her stunned, _againー_ what the Hel _was_ this vibranium?ーbefore saying, “Can you light those floating sheets on fire?”

Eyes wide, Tony scoffed. “Hey guys come on!  I bought those!”

Jarvis piped up then. “The sprinklers have been activated, Mr. Stark.”

Scratching the back of his head, Loki groaned. “So it doesn’t block _all_ magic, just the bond.  I’d say it was interesting, but I find it more _irritating_ than anything.”

“Forgive me for not following,” Fury pulled up a stool and sat, the leather of his jacket creaking against the seat, “but I don’t understand why the vibranium matters.  Whatever way she arrived here, you two,” he pointed at Loki and Sigyn, “take the tesseract back through that place, and put the tesseract in the vault.  We’ll deal with the consequences here from Hydra agents within SHIELD.  At least Big Bad won’t attack us, and we can handle Hydra better than whoever sent Loki.”

Jaw clenched, Sigyn eyed the stern man seated across from herー _It must be a requirement for_ all _one-eyed men to grate on my nerves_.  

“That is true, Director,” Sigyn smiled, though it was far from warm, “but _Big Bad_ will be able to follow the location of the tesseract as we travel to Asgard, and due to anger over Loki’s rebellion, he might come through and attack before we made it to the vault, or worse for you, before we even made it to the Midgard portal.”

Loki shook his head. “I doubt he would be able to get through the tesseract during the time it took to lock it up.  It wasn’t exactly a quick trip.  I mean for Hel’s sake, I stood at the base of the steps for a solid ten minutes before the pain even startedー” he stopped abruptly.  She didn’t need to know the torture it had been for him to travel through it.  

He felt her bristle next to him, no doubt having focused on the word ‘pain’, but she was gracious enough not to probe him about it.  Hoping to ease whatever sudden discomfort he’d caused, he smiled down at her and continued. “How long did it take you to come through Silver Lake?”

Sigyn scratched the back of her neck. “Um….what do you think, Jane?” She looked at the smaller woman seated next to her. “About ten seconds?”

“Yeah,” Jane agreed shivering, “ten _scary_ seconds.”

Loki nodded once and pulled Sigyn’s chin up to look at him. “Ten seconds plus the two minutes it would take me to teleport us to the vault.  I’m willing to take that risk, Sig.”

Sigyn frowned, her stomach in knots over the whole thing.  To Hel with the cube.  She just wanted to grab Loki and _go_.  “But…” she trailed off, knowing her protests would fall on deaf ears.

Placing both hands flat on the bar, Loki mused. “He didn’t strike me as impulsive.  He was methodical, calculating.  He uses others to do his dirty work.  Who knows, he may have other infinity gems already, but the most important thing right now is to keep the cube from him, and our best bet is Odin’s vault.”

Running her index finger up and down his, Sigyn sighed. “Then again, Odin brought the tesseract _here_.  Why would he make it so vulnerable?  Maybe it’s not safe in the vault, after all.”

Frustrated with formulating a plan that could go wrong in any different number of ways, Loki’s fingers pressed into the bar, the granite nearly crumbling. " _Safer_ in the vault,” he corrected. “The Asgardian army and the Destroyer are far more capable than Earth’s forces.”

Fury snorted, shaking his head. “You _do_ realize there are seven _billion_ of us?”

Loki raised his eyebrows in question. “Have your soldiers, even your finest ones, developed their skills over centuries, over _millennia_?”

Fury glared into the bottom of his glass, and Loki nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

Holding her stomachーLoki’s words had done _nothing_ to end its knottingーSigyn hung her head. “Those two minutes and ten seconds between the portal and the vault concern me still, and that doesn’t even include the time it would take to get from the tower to Catalina.”

“Seven minutes, tops,” Tony supplied.

“Fine, so _nine_ minutes and ten seconds concern me,” Sigyn groaned into her hands before looking up at Loki.

Letting his eyes drift shutーdammit, they were hurting againーLoki sat on the stool he’d been ignoring next to her. “ _Sig_ ,” he winced at the whining tone in his voice, “it’s a risk, I _know_ , but it’s worth it.”

She swiveled in her seat, her body completely facing him. “What if he decides to pull you back through the tesseract at any moment to talk with you rather than use _highly_ _skilled_ _telepathy_?”

He sighed. “There are a thousand _what ifs_ , Sig.” Wrapping his arm around her waist, Loki pulled her onto his lap.  It wasn’t a sexual gesture on his part, just a way to comfort her, and he knew it had worked when her arms came around his neck.

Sitting up straighter, Pepper cleared her throat and swirled her glass. “Just a thought,” she said, pausing as the group focused their attention on her, “could the vibranium block Big Bad from wielding the tesseract?”

Steve pursed his lips. “As in make a literal _shield_ for the tesseract out of vibranium?”

They were all looking at her like she’d lost her mind, but she shrugged it off. “Well, it’s strong enough to block their blood magic.  Is it possible that the tesseract works in a similar way to their bond?  If so, maybe the vibranium would block that, too.”

Loki groaned into Sigyn’s neck.  This Pepper woman had made some very intelligent comments, but this?  This was sheer idiocy.  Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “You can’t block the magic of an _infinity_ _gem_ , Ms. Potts.”

She waved a hand and took a sip of her drink. “I get that, but I’m saying maybe vibranium could mask it, _hide_ it from prying eyes.”

Brow furrowing, Loki sat up straighter. “Elaborate.”

Standing to her feet, Pepper paced slowly around the bar, one hand on her hip, the other rubbing her chin. “Maybe the tesseract emits a signature,” she paused, snapping her fingers, looking for the right word, “like the….heat signature our bodies emit.  Certain substances can block heat signatures.  Those substances create an illusion of cold.”

She looked up, proudly noting that everyone was nodding expectantly for her to continue. “For instance, in the movie _Predator_ , the predator sees his victims by using technology that detects body heat.  Schwarzenegger covers himself in mud that is cool enough to hide the heat, and the predator can’t see him.  Now, it doesn’t mean that if the predator had shot at him that it wouldn’t have killed him, it just means that the predator didn’t know where to aim.”

Brown eyes sparkling excitedly, Tony’s jaw had dropped so far he would have to pick it up off the floor. “This is exactly why I can’t live without you, Pep.  Not only do you think outside the box, but you reference awesome movies like _Predator_.  Coolest chick ever.”

Loki had no idea what _Predator_ was, but disguising a signature was actually quite brilliant. “It’s a good theory, if the vibranium actually shields it, that is.  Like I said, one can’t possibly block a powerful being from wielding the tesseract if he wants to wield it, but _masking_ it…that actually might work.” He smiled at Pepper, guilt creeping into his bones for thinking her a simpleton.  

“My torturer would sense it here in the tower, we would encase it in the shield, and it would simply disappear from his vision.  Once again, we’re assuming this rare metal is indeed able to shield it.  Though, I still don’t understand why vibranium only blocks the _bond,_ of all things.  For Hel’s sake,” he ran a hand through his hair, looking at Sigyn who was still in his lap, “our bond is the _strongest_ type of magic I can imagine.  We can’t control it.  We can’t _remove_ it by just not using it.  It’s too powerful.  Other magic, my telekinetic abilities or Sigyn’s fire for instance, requires practice, but once we’ve practiced enough, we can control it.”

Deep lines creasing Steve’s forehead, he shook his head. “But that doesn’t make any sense.  If it can block the strongest, shouldn’t it be able to block the weaker form of magic, too?”

Shrugging, elbows on the bar, Loki put his chin in his hand. “It’s just a specific type of magic that it blocks.  It doesn’t matter the strength.”

Leaning forward, Sigyn’s whispered, “It’s pure magic.”

Mid-drink, Tony set his glass down. “What’s that?”

“It blocks pure magic.   _Wild_ magic,” Sigyn clarified. “Loki and I were only able to perform the blood ritual because we have natural genetic magic flowing through our veins.” She ran a finger up and down a visible vein in Loki’s forearm. “Blood bonds can only occur between natural sorcerers because blood bonds are wild.  They can’t be tamed.  They can’t be controlled.  They can’t be _taught_.  There is no ‘how to’ manual for them.  Any form of magic that we _can_ control, that we can teach to anyone regardless of magical status, isn’t wild, isn’t _pure_.  And pure magic is by far the most dangerous form of magic in existence.” Trying to keep up with the thoughts racing ahead of her, she blinked rapidly. “Maybe the mystical properties of vibranium focus entirely on blocking its greatest threats rather than bothering with those it deems less significant.  Why waste its energy on simple telepathy?  Simple illusions?  No, it’s the real threatsーpure magic, wild magic, magic that works across a realm, or _further_ ーthat it cares enough to put up a shield.  And the tesseract?  One can’t _truly_ control it.  It’s as wild as it gets.”

Huge smile on his face, Loki gripped the back of her neck and kissed her soundly.  He could care less that everyone was watching.  

Tony cleared his throat, cringing at their display. “Enough of that.  I know where _that_ leads to.”

Pulling back, Loki chuckled quietly. “Sig, you really are brilliant,” he whispered in her ear. “No wonder I’m so in love with you.”

Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, Sigyn winked and straightened up to pay attention to the group again.

Tony crossed his arms. “So, we fashion a vibranium cube to encase the tesseract.  Big Bad will then lose sight,” his brows knitted together in confusion, “or _sense_ of it, which in turn prohibits him from focusing on its energy, and therefore he won’t be able to travel through it or send his scary army through it.  You two then take it to Asgard, lock it up, Earth is saved from alien world domination, and you guys are back home where you belong.” His face broke into a huge smile. “I like this plan.”

Steve shook his head, concern evident in his voice. “Still, we somehow need to test this vibranium shield theory.  Otherwise, this could blow up in our faces.”

“Yeah, it could,” Tony shrugged, “but it’s all we’ve got.”

 

* * *

 

_["Runaway" CMA ft. Wonder (chapter song)](https://youtu.be/qcH8XnS_1Eg?list=PL8ts83qUe2BHNrVTKaChmgydESTDPGHFB) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the purposes of this story, vibranium is not EXACTLY as it is in the films or comics. Side note: Loki’s eyes hurt. Poor guy. Hmmm….wonder why. Thanks for reading and for the kudos. They mean a lot to me.


	5. White Flame, Blue Agony

“I’ll be fine,” Sigyn said with a shrug, more to herself than to Loki, although she’d meant to address him since he’d asked.  She was glad she’d kept her voice low.  Her decidedly whiny tone would do nothing but make her seem pathetic, which is what she felt like anyhow.  But she could at least put on a good front.

Loki bent down to kiss her temple. “Of course you will,” he whispered and squeezed her shoulder. “As will I.  We are more than capable of spending a few hours apart as you demonstrated this morning during that thrilling shopping experience.”

Rolling her eyes, she wrinkled her nose. “Don’t remind me.”

From across the room, Tony cleared his throat. “How long does it take to say ‘see ya later’?”

Tony, Fury, Steve and Coulson were seated on the circular leather sofas built into the floor of the penthouse waiting to extract every possible detail of Loki’s last three months and all the knowledge he had of the tesseract.  It was clear their patience was wearing thin considering the death glare Fury was giving her and the uncharacteristic huff from Steve.  

Sigyn had agreed to let them talk to Loki alone and was, at this point, just putting off the inevitable.  Her possessiveness was rather ridiculous, she knew, but spending three hours apart that morning had been more than enough.  He’d for all intents and purposes _died_ three months ago, and now he was back.  Of  _ course _ she would want to be at his side at all times.  It made perfect sense on one hand, but the more rational part of her brain was screaming at her to just get over it.

Pushing up on the toes of her new grey Converse sneakers, which she hated to admit that she actually liked, she grabbed the collar of Loki’s sweater and pulled him down for a lingering kiss.  The annoyed huffs and ‘get a room’ type comments made her laugh against his lips, and he smiled in return, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“I’ll be in the lab just down the stairs if you need me.” She pecked his cheek.

“He _won’t_ ,” Tony called over his shoulder as he propped his feet up on the coffee table.

“Later,” Loki whispered in her ear, and swatted her backside playfully as she turned to walk away.

Chuckling, she looked over her shoulder to see him wink and bite his lower lip suggestively. “You’re absolutely ridiculous,” she said, smiling wide as he wiggled his eyebrows.

She disappeared down the steps quickly, and Loki joined the other men.  Settling into the plush leather, he sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.  He wasn’t ready to talk about the tortures he’d lived through, but he’d run out of time to  _ get _ ready.

“Well, gentlemen,” he started, swallowing thickly, “ask away.”

 

* * *

 

Upon sliding open the glass door to the lab downstairs, Sigyn quickly decided that Stark Tower Two’s lab felt less sterile than the one in Catalina.  Maybe that was because of the music coming from the little white box that Jane had set her phone on.  There were even paintings on the wall.  

Erik looked up from his laptop momentarily to see her staring at one in particular. “Odd for a lab, huh?”

Raising an eyebrow she shrugged. “A bit.”

“Tony is really proud of that one,” Pepper said, pulling up the files from Howard Stark’s work with vibranium on a transparent screen of sorts. “He loves it.  He said he wanted it to be in the room he spends most of his time in.”

Sigyn peered at the screen curiously. “He’s proud of it?  Did he create that piece?” She pointed to the painting.

Pepper choked on the coffee she’d just sipped, and coughed, though it sounded more like an amused bark. “Um,” she sputtered a bit more before continuing, “no.  Tony did not paint that.  He bought it.”

“For forty-six million dollars,” Jane pointed out, frowning at the notebook she’d been scribbling in.

Sigyn’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “For a painting that is not even a quarter size of the wall?”

“It’s a Gerhard Richter original,” Pepper explained, as though Sigyn had any idea what the Hel that meant.

Sigyn rolled her eyes.  She really  _ was _ an alien here, wasn’t she. “What’s a….” she trailed off, waving a hand. “Nevermind.”

Who was she to judge someone’s spending habits?  She was promised to Asgardian  _ royalty _  with bottomless pockets for Hel’s sake.  Still.  How absurd.  Forty-six million American dollars for something _that_ small to decorate Tony Stark’s lab?  Shaking her head, she walked to Pepper.

The taller woman tapped on a file labeled ‘Wakanda’ and started reading aloud, rather quickly, through the information.  Sigyn couldn’t quite keep up, but the furrowed brow and downturn of Pepper’s mouth wasn’t a good sign.

“Dammit,” Pepper murmured to herself, putting a hand on her hip, the other at the back of her neck.

“What is it?” Sigyn asked, squinting at the screen.

“Lemme guess,” Jane piped up, tossing her notebook on the table and crossing her arms as she strolled to them. “We don’t have the heat needed to construct it.”

Jaw quirked, Pepper just shook her head and started pacing, eventually stopping to inform them that she was going to get some more coffee and left.  Jane followed, leaving Sigyn somewhat confused and alone with Erik.

“Just how much heat is required, Dr. Selvig?” She turned to him, her hope for this experiment waning as anxiety started to push its way into her stomach.

He stood and swiped his finger across the screen. “I’m not as familiar with vibranium as I should be,” he said, shaking his head.

“Hmm.” He scratched the back of his head. “Apparently Cap’s shield is a mix of vibranium and an iron alloy, which is probably a good thing considering pure Wakandan vibranium molecules behave as if at absolute zero.”

Sigyn frowned, annoyed by how little she understood Midgard’s  _ science _ . “Absolute zero?”  

“The lowest temperature theoretically possible,” Jane answered, coming down the stairs with two cups of fresh coffee, Pepper trailing closely behind. “The atoms of a substance transmit no thermal energy, thus remaining motionless.  Caffeine?”

Sigyn shook her head, and Jane shrugged, setting down the extra cup. “Again,” Sigyn said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her tone, “how much heat is required?  Or what  _ temperature _ , I should say.”

“Well, let's put this in perspective,” Jane said, bending over to clack away at her laptop. “Carbon steel is forged at 2246 degrees Fahrenheit, and its particles hardly act like they’ve been born in a block of ice….colder than ice.” Sighing, she stood back to her full height. “God, this is going to require way more than a simple blow torch or even the hottest forge.  And Stark doesn’t exactly just have a  _ forge _ hanging out in the building.”

“How much heat do we need?” Sigyn asked again, her patience running thin.  She’d asked twice already.

“The hottest flame available is dicyanoacetylene, which is a compound of carbon and nitrogen.  The chemical formula,” she paused to write 'C4N2' on the transparent screen with her finger, “written as such shows that it has four carbon molecules and two….” she trailed off when Sigyn sighed heavily.  

Sigyn ran a hand through her hair. “Please continue, though if you could speak in a language I understand, that would be helpful.”

“I’ll try.” Jane tapped the screen a few times and a picture of a flame appeared. “Dicyanoacetylene burns in oxygen, and as you can see,” she gestured to the image on the screen, “it’s a bright blue-white flame at a temperature of 5260 Kelvin, which is equivalent to 4986.85 degrees Celsius or 9008.33 degrees Fahrenheit.  It burns hotter in the ozone at 6000 Kelvin, but seeing as how we’re on the ground, that hardly matters.”

“Oh for Hel’s sake,” Sigyn mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes.

Jane grabbed the pencil from behind her ear and tapped it to her mouth, brow furrowed as she quickly scrolled through the words on the screen. “The high flame temperature is partially due to the absence of hydrogen in the fuel.  Well,  _ obviously _ ,” she snorted, looking at Erik who had an amused look on his face, as though they were sharing an inside joke. “I mean, dicyanoacetylene isn’t a  _ hydrocarbon _ .  You’d think that peer-reviewed research wouldn’t sound so elementary.  God, this shit is written for kindergarteners.”

Sigyn and Pepper exchanged annoyed looks, and Jane looked up at them then, as though she’d forgotten they were in the room.  

With a sheepish grin, she cleared her throat. “Sorry.  I’ll break it down for you.  The absence of hydrogen in the fuel means there is no water among the combustion products because water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, thus theyー”

“For the love of  _ everything _ in the nine,  _ PLEASE _ , Jane!” Sigyn slammed her fist on the table, it’s aluminum frame buckling underneath the force.  She’d had enoughー _ enough _ of the little physicist’s science prattle. “How much fucking  _ heat _ do you need to forge vibranium?!”

They’d all jumped at her outburst and were eyeing her with thinly veiled fear.  Taking a deep breath, Sigyn reined in the hint of smoke that had appeared at the tips of her fingers.  She refused to apologize.  She would absolutely  _ not _ apologize for putting up with all this nonsense for as long as she had and then denting a table.  They should be thankful that she hadn’t lit the place on fire.  She did however clear her throat and speak more calmly.

“How much heat do you need?” She forced a smile.

It was Erik who answered. “Roughly 10,000 degrees.”

Pepper frowned. “So hotter than the hottest flame we could even find?  If we even  _ had _ access to dicyano-whatever-it-was?”

Jane shrugged, her brown eyes sadder than Sigyn had ever seen them. “Looks that way.”

Inclining her head, Sigyn pursed her lips. “I might be of help.  Heat is sort of my…. _ specialty _ .”

She then pushed the black smoke out of her fingers and let it flow from the tips of her hair.  White hot flames licked at the ends of the tendrils of smoke.  Yes, it was a bit over the top, a dramatic demonstration of her magic, but she’d wanted to make a point, and considering the dropped jaws and wide eyes staring at her, she figured it had worked.

“Are you sure you can make fire  _ that _ hot?” Erik posed, his head sideways.

She didn’t answer right away as the magic dissipated.  She was  _ almost _ positive.  After all, she’d melted frost giants with barely a thought, and hadn't thought _at all_ when she’d evaporated the frozen rain over Silver Lake.  Well,  _ they _ didn’t need to know she wasn’t one hundred percent sure.

Head held high, she nodded once. “Positive.”

Pepper laughed and looked at Jane. “You’re brilliant, Jane, but I think that's one _big_ point for magic and zero for science this round.”

Jane rolled her eyes but laughed along with them.

 

* * *

 

 

“Prepare to fall in love, Loki.” Tony set down five hot thin square boxes on the coffee table.

Loki smirked, one dark eyebrow raising as he eyed the boxes. “I can’t possibly fall farther than I already have.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony opened the boxes one by one. “I’m not talking about your  _ girlfriend _ , Loki.  Speaking of which, ease up on the PDA okay?  It’s nauseating.”

Loki frowned. “Pray tell, what is PDA?”

“Public displays of affection,” Steve answered, grabbing a slice of what looked like a flattened pie with vegetables and various meats decorating its surface.

“Ah,” Loki said, inhaling the meaty flattened pie’s heavenly aroma. “I can’t make any promises.  What is this?”

“Pizza,” Tony answered around the huge bite in his mouth, the word muffled.

“Come again?” Loki nodded his thanks to Steve as he handed him a slice.  

“Piz-za,” Tony enunciated. “Just eat it.” He waved a hand, taking a generous bite. “If you don’t like it, then you officially don’t have a soul.”

Loki watched as Tony and Steve folded their slices in half.  It looked a bit odd to him, eating the main entree of a meal with one’s hands, but shrugging, he mimicked them and ate.   _Oh gods..._

“Sweet Valhalla,” Loki breathed, his eyes rolling back as the combination of chewy thin crust, melted cheese, and various textures and flavors from the other toppings ravaged his taste buds in a most glorious fashion. “I’m falling….” he trailed off, taking another delicious bite.

“Told ya.” Tony smiled, wiping a bit of sauce from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and licking it clean. “Next to sex, it’s the best thing ever.”

“Mmm.” Loki nodded, eyes still closed.  Fuck, this was amazing.  When he was king again, this so-called ‘pizza’ was going on the menu in the palace.  He leaned forward. “This box is mine,” he said, his mouth full, his manners completely forgotten, and grabbed one of the untouched boxes and set it in his lap protectively.

Steve smiled, procuring a box for himself. “Well, if we’re staking our claims.”

“Save some for the rest of us,” Fury warned, appearing in the doorway alongside Coulson. “Stark, did you only order  _ five _ ?  Are you insane?”

Tony didn’t even look up, only showing Fury his middle finger. “So order more.”

Fury and Coulson had disappeared from the living room of Tony’s penthouse after they’d finished speaking with Loki about thirty minutes prior, and seeing as how it had been after nine o’clock at night, everyone had reached that point where hunger overruled any coherent thoughts.  They’d become ‘hangry’ according to Tony, so he had ordered dinner, not bothering to ask if the crew downstairsーSigyn, Jane, Erik, and Pepper to be exactーwould want anything.  Having had an appetite the size of Vanaheim at the time, Loki hadn’t even noticed the lack of consideration on Tony’s part.

Smirking, Fury strode over and grabbed a slice. “Just had a chat with Councilwoman Hawley.  She’ll be on SHIELD’s personal redeye in an hour.”

Tony groaned and tossed his half eaten slice back in the box. “Shit.  That soon, huh?  At least give us time to come up with a good story."

Struggling to focus through the haze of food-induced euphoria, Loki blinked and rose an eyebrow at the director. “I assume Councilwoman Hawley is your boss?”

“Not exactly.” Fury shook his head, grabbing a napkin and wiping his hands before clasping them and leaning forward on his knees. “She is a member of the world security council.  They’re politicians and representatives from the most powerful countries who keep tabs on SHIELD and give us…. _ tasks _ , for lack of a better word.”

Loki swallowed and licked his lips. “Gives you tasks that you must carry out or….”

“Or I decide the task is bullshit and go a different route.” Fury laughed, exchanging smiles with Coulson.

Loki grinned.  He rather liked this Nick Fury character. “Did this council task you with reigniting the tesseract then?”

Fury sobered instantly, his previous mirth lost with the mention of the cube, and nodded slowly.

“Too bad you didn’t decide  _ that _ task was bullshit huh?” Tony glared.

Fury shook his head and exhaled sharply. “Like you, Stark, I saw an opportunity to create sustainable energy.”

“Guys, don’t start this again.” Steve looked between the two. “Let’s just eat some pizza, drink some beer, and decide what to tell Hawley.”

Loki stared at the man for a moment, feeling an unusual amount of sympathy for him.  It seemed that Steve’s entire purpose was to be the mediator between Fury and Tony.  Where was the strength, the leadership, the glory that should befit a superhuman such as the great Captain America?  The man seemed just….incredibly  _ sad _ , in a way.  He looked away when Steve caught him staring.

“You ordered pizza?” Jane stopped at the top of the stairs, gaping.  Erik was on her heels and nearly ran into her back. “Why didn’t you tell us?” They hurried over, and Jane eyed the box in Loki’s lap lustfully.

Eyes narrowing, he hugged it more tightly.   _ Don’t even think about it, little girl.  _ “Where’s Sig?”

Scowling at the lack of food left, Jane snatched a slice from Steve’s box when he offered it with a smile.

“Thanks, Steve.  She’s testing her magic,” she said, turning to Loki. “Pepper is recording the temperature of the flames Sigyn creates.  She’s applying the heat to samples of metals and alloys with the highest melting temperatures.  We started her off easy with carbon steel, which she mastered that pretty easily.  She’s working her way up to rhenium.  She’s incredibly powerful.” Wiggling her eyebrows, she smirked.  “I might be developing a girl crush on her.”

Loki snorted, shaking his head. “Even if you weren’t barking up the wrong tree, she is very much taken.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “It was a joke.”

“Was it?  Don’t forget I can read minds, Dr. Foster,” he said, lips pursed, and Jane blushed visibly before focusing on her pizza with renewed enthusiasm.

Steve cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Why is she melting metal samples?”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “That's some  _ serious _ pyro shit.”

“Because we need  _ serious _ heat to forge the vibranium case for the tesseract, and she said heat was her specialty,” Erik said plainly with a shrug, as though it was obvious.

Steve took a swig of his beer, wishing for once that he could feel even a slight buzz. “Just how hot does it have to be?”

Jane cleared her throat. “Like surface of the sun hot.” Out of the corner of her eye, she looked nervously at Loki.

Sitting up straighter, his pizza forgotten, Loki sucked in his cheeks. “And how hot is your sun’s surface?”

Jane opened her mouth but stopped short as Loki stood, his intimidating height dwarfing her.  The man was really scary when he wanted to be.  Or maybe he didn’t  _ want _ to be scary and was just really concerned for Sigyn, but he was scaring Jane shitless nonetheless.  Swallowing thickly, she squared her shoulders. 

“9941 degrees.”

Eyes wide, jaw clenched, Loki was down the stairs in a second.  Gods, Sig couldn’t possibly….her magic just couldn’t handle that.  Her  _ body _ couldn’t handle that.  No way in Hel would he let her kill herself for a fucking  _ science _ experiment.

 

* * *

 

 

One arm wrapped around Sigyn’s waist, Loki pulled her closer into him when they reached their floor.  She rested heavily on him, though it was obvious to him that she was trying not to.  He’d found her in the lab, her eyes sunken and sweat beading on her brow, and he knew she wasn’t sweating from the heat of the flames.  No, she was exhausting herself with all this melting nonsense, so Loki had simply swept her up and taken her to the elevator.  Midway to their floor, she’d asked to be set down, though she was unsteady on her feet.  

“I’m fine,” she mumbled as he picked her back up, rolling his eyes.

“You most certainly are  _ not _ fine, Sig.” He laid her on the bed when they came to their bedroom, and he set to removing her sneakers.  

Shaking his head, he growled under his breath at the knot in the laces.   _ Human idiots _ .  Could Pepper or Jane or Erik not see that Sigyn was unwell in the lab?

She sat up on her elbows, her biceps trembling with the effort. “Loki….”

Looking up at her, he sighed. “You cannot possibly make flames that hot.”

“Yes, I can.  I could have, if you hadn’t stopped me.” She pushed up completely to a seated position and undid the knot for him. “I had to focus a bit more than usual, but I’d melted ruthenium just before you came and snatched me away.”

Loki glared, pulling off her shoe and tossing it over his shoulder. “And how hot was this ruthenium?”

She bit her lip anxiously, really not wanting to set off his temper.  She was far too tired to deal with that. “Pepper said it was 4500 degrees.”

“Right,” he huffed, thoroughly pissed off now as he nimbly undid the button of her jeans and pulled them down her legs. “And Selvig said vibranium would need 10,000 degrees.  If 4500 takes a ‘bit more focus’,” he made quotes with his fingers, “what will _10,000_ take?”

Reaching down, she tugged on his arms weakly, trying to pull him to her.  He was being far too protective.  She wasn’t a child.  She could  _ do _ this, but she needed him to have faith in her. “Loki….”

“Gods, you’ll exhaust your magic!” He gripped the hem of her shirt, pulling it off, and stalked to the shopping bags in the corner to find the set of sleep clothes he’d seen earlier.  He was going to make her rest, whether she liked it or not.

He shook his head, angrily rummaging through the bags until he found the soft grey t-shirt and stretchy shorts.  Rising to his feet, he climbed on the bed and crawled to her, gesturing for her to put her arms up so he could pull the shirt over her head.  Didn’t she understand?  Did she not remember when Odin stripped her of her magic?  How agonizing it had been?  Their magic weaved through their very fibres, and without it, the joints rubbed painfully against each other, the muscles weakened, their minds dulled.

“Was not your magic exhausted by the time you landed on that desert?” She placed a hand on his chest, reveling in the electric feel of  _ his _ magic pulsing underneath it. “And yet here you are, stronger and as magical as ever.”

He stopped then, kissing her forehead.  She had a point, but he wasn’t ready to concede. “Sig…”

“I’ll be fine,” she whispered for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Shaking his head, he cupped her face with both hands, his eyes meeting hers. “I cannot risk losing you.  I lost you once.   _ Twice _ , actually.  I’ll not do it again.”

Gods, she loved him.  This would have been the perfect moment to lean in, to share a kiss, to pull him close and love him again….and  _ again _ , if she wasn’t so damn tired.  But staring into his stunning irises, she stopped suddenly, seeing what she hadn't seen in over three months now.  Something she  _ adored _ .  Eyes wide, tears stinging them, she brought her hand to her mouth.

“Loki, your  _ eyes… _ .” The tears fell freely now.

His eyebrows came together. “What?”

Lower lip trembling, she smiled and ran her thumbs under his lower lashes. “Go look in the mirror.”

He hesitated.  Through the bond he could feel her happiness, her  _ relief _ .  He thought he could guess why she was looking at him like she had in the throne room when they’d first seen each other.  The warm familiarity that flowed through her now flowed through him, and he was almost positive of what he would see in the mirror.  Standing slowly, he walked into their bathroom and stared at his reflection in the glass over the vanity.  He leaned closer and could have wept at the sight of  _ his _ eyes looking back at him as his mother’s once words echoed in his mind.

_ Green is for life. _

He swallowed thickly and closed his eyes.   _ Thank the norns. _

Sigyn’s arms came around him from behind, and he turned in them, the smile on her face wider than he’d ever seen it.  She pulled him down by his neck and kissed his eyelids.  His hand came up to her hair as the other crushed her ribs, partly because he felt that he couldn’t pull her close enough but mostly because he thought she might collapse at any moment.

“You put the most stunning emeralds to shame,” she murmured into his ear.

Turning his head, he kissed her and smiled against her teeth as she began to slowly grind her hips into him, though the effort was halfhearted at best. “You’re insatiable, woman.”

“Can you blame me?” She kissed along his jawline, pulling a breathy moan from his throat, arousal flaring deep within him. “Have you  _ seen _ you?”

“I have.” He groaned as she all but climbed him like a tree and wrapped her legs around his waist.  

Kissing her breathless, he gripped the backs of her thighs and carried her to the bed where he deposited her carefully beneath him.  His hand wandered under the cotton of her shirt, moving up to her breast, and with the other he unbuckled his belt.  He moaned into her mouth, hissing sharply when she reached down and gripped him through his jeans.  Hooking a finger inside the waistband of her shorts, he urged her to lift her lower half up so he could remove them, but her trembling legs and the little yelp that escaped her lips gave her away.  He pulled back from her kiss and looked down at her.  

“What?” She frowned, shifting underneath him. “Don’t stop.”

Right.  She wasn’t exactly  _ begging _ him, was she.  Shaking his head, he ran a finger under her eyes.  They were still sunken, the dark circles underneath them growing darker still, and her forehead still glistened with sweat,  _ and _ her cheeks looked positively feverish.  Rolling his eyes, he growled, utterly frustrated.   _ Fucking Hel. _  She’d made him hard as a damn rock and now he had to deny himself, lest she pass out beneath him.

“I’m afraid I must.” He pushed up from the bed and adjusted his pants, wincing as he attempted to zip the fly over his straining cock.  

_ Insufferable trousers! _  Frustratedーthere was no way he would be able to zip them at this pointーhe pulled them down completely and removed his sweater.  Wandering into the bathroom in just black boxer briefs, he splashed cold water on his face and stayed there until he was no longer painfully aroused.

“I’m sorry,” Sigyn mumbled weakly when he finally crawled into the bed next to her and pulled her to him underneath the sheets.

“You should be.” He kissed her forehead. “Evil woman.”

She laughed weakly and tried to find a comfortable position.  Five minutes into her shifting around next to him, he threw an arm over his eyes and groaned.

“Sig, love, what are you doing?”

She stilled on her back and exhaled heavily. “Everything hurts.  I might as well get up.  I can’t sleep like this.”

“I can help with that.” He pulled her to face him on her side and placed two fingers on both of her temples.

“What are youー”

“Shh.”

“Are you drugging me?”

“Yes.”

Green light came into her vision as her eyelids grew heavy, her limbs relaxing instantly.

“Mmmm, druuugsss,” she mumbled, her tongue feeling thick in her mouth. “I d'l-looove th-thozzz mmmagical fingersss'f yourzzz….”

“You always have,” he whispered, chuckling at her slurred words, and settled in next to her as her jaw went slack with deep sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Loki awakened abruptly, shooting up in bed as though someone had yanked him by the shoulders.  Running a hand down his face, he yawned.  Sigyn was still curled on her side facing him exactly as she was when she fell asleep.  Good.  Hopefully, she’d sleep for another ten hours.  He slid out from under the covers with all the lithe grace of a cat so as not to wake her, though he doubted even a siren could wake her up at this point.  He’d basically put her in a mini coma with his magic.

He’d have preferred to sedate  _ himself _ , honestly, but the time had come for him to report his findings to the Other.  Pulling on a black v-neck t-shirt and long black drawstring cotton pants, he wandered into another bedroom.  He stood at the window and glared at the thunderstorm outside.  Lightning flashed across the black clouds, and his mind went to a decidedly  _ dark _ place.   _ Thor _ .  He shivered as his  _ not _ -brother’s face splayed across his vision.  He slammed his eyes shut, hands balling into fists at his sides.

Squaring his shoulders, he did what the Other had told him to do.  Face the western sky at eleven o’clock on the second night and focus on the base of the stairs in the desert in his mind.  He was to do this every other night or ‘else’.  He had no idea what the Other’s idea of ‘or else’ entailed, but he had no interest in finding out, so there he stood, waiting for this to be over.  

His eyes glazed over as the clouds twisted and morphed and altogether disappeared from his vision.  Cringing, wishing only to see the Los Angeles skyline lit up by lightning, he slowly opened his eyes to peer at his surroundings.  Steadying himself mentally, he took deep breaths.   _ Ugh _ ーhe  _ hated _ this.  There he was, at the base of the stairs, and who else but the aptly named Other was descending them.

“Tell me,” the wretched creature commanded.

“The tesseract is under the care of a counter terrorism agency called SHIELD.  They are devoted to using the tesseract as an energy source, not a weapon,” Loki lied easily.  

“Is it of great value to them?”

Loki managed to keep from rolling his eyes, though he wanted to….desperately.   Was the tesseract of great value to them?   _Really?!_

“Of course,” he answered coolly, his hands clasped behind his back. “Their planet is very old. The humans have been draining Earth’s natural resources for too long, and they know they must find another method to fuel their habits.”

The Other nodded. “And what of SHIELD?  How strong are their forces?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

_ Liar, liar pants on fire.  _

He knew damn well just how formidable SHIELD was.  He’d spent hours talking with their director.  Hel, he knew the favorite foods of each of the agents on Coulson’s team.

The Other wasn’t convinced and descended the last step with renewed purpose.  He came within inches of grabbing Loki’s throat, but Loki stopped him, his palms up.

“I know that twenty or so agents were ready to kill me when I came through the tesseract.  They stood down because their lead agent told them to, so clearly they follow their leaders commands.  There is no evidence of mutiny.”

Stepping back, the Other looked him up and down. “And what do they think of you?  Do they suspect you?”

Loki chuckled darkly, a physical lie if ever there was one since there was  _ nothing _ funny about this encounter. “No.  They find me intriguing and …. attractive.”

It was the Other’s turn to laugh, the sound grating on Loki’s ears. “I’m sure they do,” he said, making Loki’s stomach twist painfully.  

He had to stop himself from reeling back in disgust when the Other patted his cheek twice. “See that you continue your  _ good _ work, Asgardian.  We’ll speak in two nights.”

“Very well,” Loki managed to spit out before the pain started.

_ Oh no.  No no no no no!  Not again! _

He crumpled to the ground, gripping his head as those same damn invisible syringes stabbed his eyes.  The illusion of the desert disappeared as thunder boomed across the city.  Gritting his teeth, he curled in on himself.  He tried to hold back his scream.  He  _ really _ tried.

_ “GODS!” _

_ “Loki?!” _ Sigyn stumbled into the doorway, clinging to the frame to keep from falling, one hand covering her mouth as though she was going to be sick.

“Sig….” he croaked, his throat hoarse.  He was genuinely sobbing now, trying to push up to his knees.  

“No no no!” She ran to him gracelessly, and fell to the ground next to him, pulling his head into her lap. “Just stay there.  I’m,” she let out a trembling breath, “here.”

The pain eased up enough for him to get out more than one word at a time, though he still couldn’t open his eyes.

“Are….you….okay?” He spoke between breaths, relieved for the ability to breathe at all now.

“I can handle it,” she said before promptly pushing to her feet and scrambling into the adjoining bathroom where she threw up into the toilet, her grip on the rim so tight that she bent the porcelain.  She’d never associated headaches with nausea, but clearly her body had a different idea at the moment.  This was a whole new level of pain.

Loki called from the bedroom, his voice strained still. “I’m so sorry, Sig.  I’m so sorry.  Just turn it off, love.  Turn off the bond.   _Ugh_ ….” he trailed off, his stomach twisting and turning wretchedly as his mouth filled quickly with saliva.

He heard the toilet flush and the tap turned on, and his nausea dissipated instantly.  Either she’d blocked the pain of his headache or he’d blocked her stomach pains, he didn’t know which, but he was glad that it was over.  It would have been a vicious cycle.

She came up behind him and pulled his head back into her lap, pushing his damp hair away from his face and putting a cool washcloth to his forehead.  Squeezing her arm, he murmured his thanks and continued to apologize profusely for the pain he’d caused her.

“Shush now, Loki,” she whispered. “I think being so tired made it worse.  I hardly care about myself though.” She put her forehead on his, hoping it was comforting to him. “What happened?”

Eyes closed still, he sighed. “It happened when I came through the tesseract, too.  I was speaking with the Other, and he dismissed me, and it happened again.”

“He gave you a headache?” An  _ agonizing _ headache.  She wanted to meet this _Other_ and burn his face off. “But you weren’t using the tesseract this time.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

He managed to open his eyes and look up at her, blinking rapidly.  She was looking out the window, seemingly lost in thought, the lightning casting flickering shadows across her face.  The dark circles under her eyes weren’t as bad as they were when she fell asleep, at least.  The sweat on her brow was probably from the headache and the retching.  Despite all that, she was still the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.  She finally looked down at him and seemed surprised to see his eyes open.  No, that wasn’t  _ surprise _ in her eyes.  That was  _ fear _ .  She was gaping at him, her hand going to her throat.

“What’s wrong?” He looked down at his arm, checking to see that he hadn’t turned blue.  Not that she was afraid of his Jotun form, but he just didn’t know why she was staring at him as though he’d developed some sort of horrid disfigurement.  

“What’s wrong?” he asked again, more urgency in his tone.  She didn’t answer, and gripping her arm, he sat up and shook her. “Tell me!”

As though coming out of a haze, she stroked his cheek, a tear escaping from her watery grey green eyes, and regarded him with a sadness that cut right through him.

“Your eyes....” Her hand was on her mouth, choking back a sob.

” _ Wha… _ .?” He couldn’t even manage a  _ one syllable _ word.  Tears were coming again, he could feel them.  His breath hitched in his chest, everything aching, his muscles, his bones….his heart most of all.

Despite the pain, he pushed to his feet and stood before the full length mirror in the corner of the room, the glass facing the window behind him.  It was too dark to see anything, but he looked nonetheless.  Maybe she’d been mistaken.  The lightning could have been playing tricks on her eyes, right?  And then an especially bright flash lit up the room, for what felt like ages, the blindingly bright streak reflecting in the mirror with such intensity that he saw himself more clearly than he ever had.  It was like watching the blood-splattering mess of Thor gutting one of his kills after hunting.  It was awful, and the image would be forever seared into his brain, but he couldn’t look away.  As though in painfully slow motion, the light swept over his features revealing bright unnaturally  _ blue _ eyes.

He was vaguely aware that Sigyn was hugging him, her shoulders shaking, her tears soaking through his black t-shirt.

_ Green is for life. _

What was  _ blue _ for then?   _ Death _ ?!  Was he dying...just slowly?  Over days?  Weeks?  Months?  What was happening?!  They’d been green!  And now they were blue again!   _ Why _ ?!

Eyes searching hers, he tried to hide the tremble of his lower lip. “They’re killing me.  They're going to kill me.  They're going to _kill_ me, Sig.”  Dear gods, blue was for _death_.

“I won’t let them,” she whispered shakily, reaching around his neck and kissing his cheek, her lips lingering there as her hands wove through his hair.  

“Green is for life.  Green is for life.  Green is for life….” he mumbled the prophetic words over and over, wrapping his arms around her as his mind reeled.

He couldn’t do this again.  He was back on the bridge, tumbling over the edge into darkness, all hope lost.  Clinging to her, nearly crushing her, he put his face in her hair and choked on his own cry.  

 

* * *

  
_["Cold Front" Hammock (chapter song)](https://youtu.be/hdvR0R36FIE?list=PL8ts83qUe2BHNrVTKaChmgydESTDPGHFB) _   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the 'science' was fairly convincing. I had to do some research on melting vs. forging temperatures of different metals and alloys, and I'm pretty much okay with what I wrote. Also, Gerhard Richter is a famous contemporary artist, and one of his original paintings really did sell for $46 million. I'm an artist, too....why won't anyone spend that much for one of MY paintings? *snort* Dream on, woman. And Loki's eyes....ugh, guys, it's KILLING me to write about that. I hate putting him through that torture, but alas, I must. Thank you for reading, everyone. I'll try to update sooner next time.


	6. Storms Pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible triggers here:
> 
> Suicidal Ideation  
> Drug use

Light.  Bright light.  Behind closed eyelids, Loki saw orange and was vaguely aware of the warming of his face.  The sun must have come up, and he instantly regretted having chosen a bedroom with an entire wall of east facing floor to ceiling windows in Stark Tower Two.  He wasn’t ready to get up, but the sheets haphazardly encasing his body were suddenly too hot, and he found himself breaking into a sweat.  He turned away from the light and kicked off the covers, welcoming the frigid air conditioning blasting from the vent above the bed.

_Ah, much better._

Eyes fluttering open reluctantly, Loki struggled to focus on the western wall of the bedroom, his pupils adjusting to the light of morning on his third day in this insignificant realm that was barely worth warranting the term ‘realm’ at all.  Sure that pizza was the best thing he’d ever tasted, and sure he was even getting on with the people he’d met thus far, and sure he was living in absolute luxury compared to most of the inhabitants of Midgard, and sure he was grateful to have escaped the desert and be reunited with Sigyn, but after that meeting with The Other last night and feeling the excruciating pain in his eyes again, he was _done_.

Abdominal muscles flexing, he sighed heavily and sat up, rubbing his eyes.  It felt good to rub them.  Maybe he could rub them enough, and they’d change back to green. Rolling his eyes, he ran his fingers through his hair and swung his legs over the side of the bed and went to the bathroom to relieve himself, the events of the night before scrolling through his mind as they would on a tablet screen with the swipe of a thumb.

_Fucking blue._

He readjusted his pants and walked to the vanity, the toilet flushing automatically behind him.  Staring at his hands as he washed them, avoiding his reflection in the mirror, he barely registered the arms that came around his middle from behind.

“Did you get enough sleep?” Sigyn’s voice surprised him.  It wasn’t small, not laced with emotion, no cracks or warbling, but smooth and full of something else.  Assurance.  Confidence.  He ignored it.

“Not especially,” he answered curtly, his focus on the soap suds becoming more intense.  He would not be lured into pleasantries.  He felt awful, and he would respond accordingly.

She removed her arms and came beside him, pushing up to sit on the smooth elegant travertine surface.  He could feel her staring at him, waiting, though what she was waiting for he had no idea.  

“Hungry?” she asked plainly, as though it were a morning like any other.

He would’ve scoffed if he’d had the energy, which he did not. “Not especially.”

“Loki.”

“Sig.”

“I think you’ve scrubbed off the first layer of your skin.”

He shut the water off and sidestepped her foot which she’d kicked out to stop him from leaving and peeled off his pants and boxer briefs and stepped into the shower. Water rained down on him, needing no time to warm up.  Steam encased him, the glass walls fogging quickly.  That was good, the fog.  He didn’t like her staring at him, which he knew she still was.  He wanted to be left alone.  He wanted to brood in solitude, and he was fully aware just how childish that was.  

The piney scent of the shampoo provided was absurdly reminiscent of Vanaheim, and his stomach clenched at the thought, his hands stilling on his scalp.  Sig probably hated that smell.  Their last experience in the evergreen realm had not exactly been pleasant.  He rinsed it out of his hair quickly.  See?  He wasn’t being completely unkind to her.  Even in his brooding, he was still being thoughtful, still cognizant of her feelings.  Such a good _boyfriend_.  

“They’ve put a tracking spell on you,” she said suddenly, her voice bouncing off the bare walls and high ceiling, startling him enough that he dropped the soap and cursed.

_What?_

He remained silent, choosing to ignore her ridiculous wordsー _tracking spell?...right_.  

He stared at the mosaic tile of the shower wall, the warm water running down his back lulling him into a trance of sorts.  It was quite a work of art actually, this mosaic with its beautiful red poppies wrapping around each other almost like vines but with black stems rather than green.  Such lovely flowers grown for such devious recreational purposes, albeit with rather unfortunate and addictive consequences.  Though _recreational_ was a relative and somewhat loose term.   _Self-medicating_ was more accurate.  If he was a human, and thank the norns he wasn’t, no doubt he’d have been lost to the powers of that pretty flower in no time at all.  He could use some medication right now.  Some good strong _chill_ medication with a dreamy feel good glow that would knock him off his feet and render him positively boneless and _fine with everything_ for hours.  

He didn’t really want a rush of euphoria.  That is, he didn’t want the specific euphoria to make him love everybody or feel like he was an unstoppable king.  He didn’t want to hallucinate.  He didn’t want to be drunk.  He didn’t want a hangover.  And gods he did _not_ want to fuck.  Sex required two people, and he had no interest in company right now.

He only turned off the shower and stepped out when he heard the bathroom door close.  

* * *

 

Sigyn was seated at the kitchen island, eyes fixed on an iPad, brow furrowed, when Loki finally surfaced from the bedroom several hours later.  He’d given himself a potent burst of his more ... _intoxicating_ magic, significantly more than what he’d given Fury yesterday.  It had been a _long_ time since he’d done such a thing, but he really was at his wits end.  Lying there on his back, the soft duvet pillowed his heavy body as his mind just _stopped_ .  Everything fading beautifully, the world around him was just fine, and he felt _good_.  It was a stupid thing to do, he knew, as he watched the beautiful woman who loved him more than her own life browse the contents of the screen in front of her.  She made no motion to move, nor did she bother to look up as he approached her.

Still buzzing faintly, he ran a hand through his hair and licked his teeth.  His entire mouth felt like cotton.  Sucking in his cheeks in an attempt to encourage at least a hint of salivation, he scratched the back of his neck.  What the Hel was he supposed to say?  Good afternoon?  He looked out the window at the dusky orange sun moving below the skyline.  Evening, more like.  He’d been out for most of the day. “Sig, Iー”

“It’s fine,” she said, finally acknowledging his presence, though she kept her eyes on the tablet. “Whether you’re about to issue an apology or have forgotten everything that happened or didn’t happen this morning, it’s fine.”

It was probably the best possible greeting he could have hoped for.  He didn’t want to apologize.  He didn’t owe that to her.  She had been there last night.  She understood.  She knew better than to smother him.  She knew it would do neither of them any good.  She knew.  She _knew_ him.  And he loved her all the more for it.  

“I was looking up the tracking … “ she trailed off as she looked up at him and stood up, her gaze going from confused to suspicious to downright sympathetic.  He decided he hated the sympathy the most.

After a beat, she took a deep breath and turned away from him. “The blue is far more prominent when your pupils are the size of pinpoints, Loki.”

_Pinpoints?  What?  Oh….right.  Shit._

Running his hands down his face and jawline, he groaned and let them linger at the back of his neck.  He rubbed the ache there furiously.  It was one thing for Sigyn to know that he was stoned, as the mortals called it, but it was another thing entirely for her to see the evidence of it on his face.  He suddenly hated himself.

He started to speak, but she held up a hand, his words catching in the back of his throat.

“Don’t.” An edge had crept into her voice, and Loki all but winced at it.

She approached him as though he was a wounded animal, which he was _not_ , and he straightened his slumped shoulders in response.  He hated that look on her face. Anger?  Disappointment?  Fear?  Panic?  The grey green of her eyes dulled with her quickly forming tears.  He’d made her cry.  He’d hurt her.  He was not good enough for her.  

He shook his head, not wanting to feel the self-loathing threatening to overtake him, also to clear the fog in his brain.

Why did she even want him?  There it was….the self-loathing.  He cringed.

Why did she love him at all?  He didn’t deserve her.  The Other might as well kill him and be done with it.  Fucking blue.  He wanted to scream.  He wanted to die.  He wasn’t sure if he was worth her struggling.  But he wanted her nonetheless.  Selfish bastard.  He wanted her to fight for him.  He wanted her to _want_ him.  But loving him was pain.  He was nothing but trouble.  Trouble and pain and torture….they followed him everywhere he went, and he was dragging her right along with him.  He searched her face as she neared him, one tear falling slowly down her pale cheek, her lips beginning to quiver.   _Oh gods, Sig…._

“One,” she managed to say, though it was clearly a struggle for her.

The lump in his throat grew immeasurably at the word.  He knew what she meant, even without clarification.  Staring down at her, he felt sick to his stomach.   _One_ .  She was giving him one pass.  This was his one pass to do something so utterly foolish, so crudely selfish, as to knock himself out for nearly an entire day, leaving himself utterly defenseless to any and all harm that could have, and in all likelihood, _would_ have come to him.

“I know you’re scared,” she began again, slowly, choosing her words carefully, “and you have every right to be.  And I understand why you want to escape, to forget, to numb the pain.  I know it _hurts_ .  Don’t forget, Loki….I can _feel_ it.  But this,” she pointed at his eyes, and he closed them, not able to hold her gaze any longer, “is _not_ going to destroy you.”

Brow furrowing, he looked at her again.  He’d thought she was pointing at his pupils, at the evidence of his intoxication, but it was the irises that held her attention….the blue she saw there.  The blue that he’d thought was for death.  That blue would _not_ destroy him.  That’s what she meant.  Blue was _not_ for death.  It sure as Hel wasn’t for life, but it wasn’t for death either.  What then?

“A storm,” she answered his silent question, her voice still a bit wobbly.

_A storm_ , he repeated silently, the word feeling too small and too big all at once.

“And storms, Loki,” she reached a hand to his face, another tear making its way down her cheek, “storms _pass_.”

His heart absolutely _shattered_.

Choking back a sob, Loki grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, her words breaking him apart.   _Storms pass._   

_But it’s a_ terrifying _storm, the strongest I've ever seen, and I’m trapped_ _in it!_

He was drowning in that storm, waves crashing all around him as he searched all directions, being tossed about like the wounded animal that he apparently _was_ .  But storms _pass_.  The clouds break, the fiery sun shining through, drying up the destruction, burning off the fear.  Fiery hot sun.  

Fire…. _Sigyn_.

He pulled back to look at her, gazing at her as though she were his savior, and in truth, she was.  Just as he’d saved her in Vanaheim, just as he’d pulled her from Hela’s grip seemingly _ages_ ago, so she had been saving him ever since.  She was the reason he’d refused to give up in the desert, the hope of somehow surviving, somehow escaping, and seeing her again pushing him forward.  

Her mouth curved up crookedly, the grey green of her eyes brightening a shade. “Your story is _not_ over.”

Swallowing thickly, he nodded once.

“I need to hear you say it,” she said, her eyes not leaving his.

“My story is not over,” he repeated, his voice thick with emotion.

“Again,” she said more firmly, holding up a finger, “and _believe_ it.”

That gave him pause.  He stared at her, searching her face for any hint of doubt.  How could she be so strong?  She’d felt the pain in his eyes.  She knew what was happening.  Wasn’t she terrified?  Yes.  She was.  He could feel the fear coming off of her in waves.  But what was courage without fear?  What was strength without pain?  What power did fire hold if the air wasn’t painfully frigid?  Storms pass….and Sigyn was the fire burning them into nothingness.

“My story is not over,” he said then, bringing his forehead to meet hers.

And _gods_ did he mean it.

* * *

  
_["The Whisperer" David Guetta ft. Sia (chapter song)](https://youtu.be/jF51-HaFCxY)_  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This story is not over." My sincerest apologies for updating months and months later. I won't lie....my Loki mused just sort of died back in March. Partly because I had a Bucky Barnes muse show up out of nowhere....he's terribly distracting, but more so because my husband and I began the process of starting a gym, and it has been taking more than a little of my time and energy to get our own business up and running. And writing takes *lots* of brain power. I didn't want to rush an update because Loki deserves better than that....Sigyn too. I'd wanted to make this chapter longer, but ultimately, I wanted to give you all *something* so you wouldn't think I'd abandoned this one forever. That and it was time to get this ball rolling again. I'd wanted to delve into the whole "tracking spell" thing, but you'll get that in the next chapter. I hope this one leaves you with some hope for Loki and Sigyn's future, since I know the last one probably felt like a stab in the heart. Hopefully this helps. Thanks for bearing with me, everyone. Hope you've been well.


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